Ethnic Differences in Endorsement of the Protestant Work Ethic: The Role of Ethnic Identity and Perceptions of Social Class

Abstract

The authors examined ethnic differences in endorsement of the Protestant work ethic (PWE; M. Weber, 1905) among Black (n = 96) and White (n = 149) college students and tested whether differences in ethnic identity and perceptions of social class mediated the relationship between ethnicity and the endorsement of PWE values. Blacks were higher in levels of ethnic identity, more likely to see themselves as working or middle class, and less likely to endorse the PWE. Only perceptions of social class partially mediated the relationship between ethnicity and PWE values. The authors concluded that perception of social class is an important construct that might influence the cultural psychology of different ethnic groups. The authors recommended further research involving PWE and other cultural variables.

Examining the influence of transculturation on work ethic in the United States

“…"white" and "black" groups), as is more recent research (e.g. Cokley et al, 2007). Given the changing demographics and the numerous ethnic groups present in the USA workforce, we assert that the dynamic nature of this workforce warrants further investigation of work ethic perceptions relative to ethnicity.…”

“…Aul, 1978;Buchholz, 1978;ul Hassan, 1968;Wollack et al, 1971). A more recent study by Cokley et al (2007) also indicates ethnic differences in work ethic, but is still limited to only "black" and "white" ethnicities. Therefore, although extant literature suggests that differences in work ethic exist across ethnic groups, the literature is limited in scope.…”

“…For example, Caucasians are identified as more individualistic (Cokley et al, 2007), and African Americans are identified as collective with a rich history of oral tradition (White, 1984). Furthermore, African Americans have more positive work attitudes than Caucasians (Somers and Birnbaum, 2001), and Hispanic and Caucasian professionals vary in the factors that influence job satisfaction (Moyes and Redd, 2008).…”

“…Bhagat, 1979;Cokley et al, 2007). For example, Ghorpade et al (2006) conducted an ethno-religious examination of work ethic and found that Filipinos rate significantly higher in the dimension of hard work compared to other ethnicities.…”

Meritocracy and Tokenism

“…For the advantaged, meritocracy beliefs coincide nicely with the motivation to see oneself and one's in-group in a positive light (e.g., Levy et al, 2006). Thus, it is not surprising that Whites tend to endorse meritocratic beliefs more than Blacks and, for Whites, endorsement of meritocracy increases with personal socioeconomic status (Cokley et al, 2007).…”