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I'll come out in just say it. Most Americans do not have a work ethic. Once the balance tilted between leisure time and work time, Americans decided that they would rather take the leisure time. Thus they demand "flexible hours" at work, insist on taking all the "sick" days that are "due" to them, and generally come up with every excuse in the book for not coming to work on a particular day. "My aunt is ill...my basement is flooded...I have to take my car to the mechanic...my heat won't come on...my kid is home from school and I have no babysitter..."

And on and on. As somebody who runs a large department, I've heard them all. Every little inconvenience in life is presented to me as "high drama" and thus a reason for them not to come to work or to show up late.

Employees have taken days off to binge-watch a season of a TV show on Netflix. They've taken the Friday before the Super Bowl so that they can "prepare" for the party - and then of course, they needed to take the Monday after off as well. One employee was taking her daughter to a Justin Beiber concert that night and she needed the afternoon off to pull her daughter out of school early and get ready for it.

Many Americans do not take their jobs seriously. They generally do not aspire to move up the ladder either. They are content to do a "simple" job so that they can punch in and punch out of on a regular schedule so they can get home to have leisure time. Yet they are the first ones to gripe when they get a 2% raise or are asked to work a little overtime.

I think the bottom line is that there is so much leisure available that work has now become a nuisance for most people. They would rather stay home and watch their television shows or surf the Internet than to get up and come to work in the morning. And if they can fake or exaggerate a "disability", they will sit home and collect Worker's comp, SSI, or even welfare as long as we keep sending them checks.

I think you've hit on a lot of excellent points in your post.

I'm in a managerial position where I see a lot of that -- and even some things you didn't mention. You summed it up perfectly in one sentence: Many Americans do not take their jobs seriously.

They are content to do a "simple" job so that they can punch in and punch out of on a regular schedule so they can get home to have leisure time.

"Up or Out", isn't just for the military anymore.