I have a theory about the lack of work ethic I, and others I know, have.

Most of the people I know who suffer from this lack of work ethic are smart people. Like myself, they didn't need to try very hard in high school or college to get good grades. That sort of thing just came easily and seemed automatic.

Now, it is like we are in school again. The reward is pay instead of good grades and it seems like we should get paid for whatever amount of effort we put in. As a theory, I think this is a pretty good one. In school why would I put in 100% of my effort if putting in 80% was going to yield the same A? Likewise, at work, why would I put in 100% of my effort when significantly less still yields the same paycheck?

The more I think about it, the more I think this is a plausible theory. For instance, in classes where 80% of the effort was getting close to not yielding an A, I would step up the effort. However, at work, with the absence of negative feedback like that, there is no real incentive to increase my effort. It isn't like I am going to get a bigger raise (or any raise at all) with additional effort. I am not in the MBO bonus program, so I don't have money tied to my performance.

Interesting. I may need to spend most of my working hours today thinking about this.