16 Values That Define the Working Class Experience
Over half of the population needs to work to stay afloat in this world. Employees clock in or log in to their virtual jobs, perform their tasks, and receive compensation during pay cycles. Since billions of people work to maintain their lifestyles and survive, they develop certain values that follow them through their lives. A working-class citizen may adapt to a more independent lifestyle than an individual with a trust fund. Independence, punctuality, and determination are just a few of the values that make up a working-class person.
1. Independent
Working-class individuals learn how to act independently of others. No one holds your hand in the workforce. Sure, a team leader trains you and instructs you on what to do and how to do the job, but the new hire treatment lasts a short period. After your briefing, you step on the workfloor, where the boss expects you to act as an expert in the field.
People in the workforce know how to hold their own and support themselves. Outside of the job, people need to pay bills, feed themselves, and support their lifestyle with their earned paychecks. Gone are the days of relying on allowances from family members or living rent-free in someone else’s house.
2. Punctuality
Aside from independence, punctuality is a major focus in the working class. Perhaps you show up late to a job. Wasting someone else’s time paints you as an arrogant person without respect for other’s schedules, especially when you remain on the bottom rung of the workforce. A former boss once repeated a well-known saying to me, “If you’re not early, you’re late.”
3. Responsibility
Moving up in a business requires workers to take extra responsibilities as tasks. You won’t get anywhere by blaming others or neglecting necessities in your work. The best employees complete their assignments, own up to their wrongdoings, and help others do their best work.
4. Dependability
Sometimes a job needs you to show up on your off day. When I worked at Barnes and Noble, everyone loved calling out. The managers had a limited staff, as this occurred during COVID. The higher-ups called me and one other employee whenever a person decided to call out because we established ourselves as dependable people. However, dependability is not the same thing as a non-assertive person.
5. Assertiveness
People treat you with respect as an assertive individual once you prove your dependability. Most times, when a boss called me to fill a call-out, I showed up. Only when I could, though. We maintain lives outside of work, and though fears of upsetting a boss might surface, we must balance fun with work for a healthy lifestyle. I recall a few instances where I took a mini road trip during one of my days off, and a manager called me, pleading with me to fill in the absence of the other staff. I explained the situation and stuck up for myself since I established other plans based on my schedule.
6. Altruistic
People who work for their lifestyles tend to adopt altruistic behaviors since they know the importance of helping others. True altruistic people act based on the goodness of their heart, to sound cliche. Altruism reflects a lack of selfishness, which is a trait needed in many careers like health care, marketing, and veterinary work.
7. Grateful
I use gratitude and appreciation as interchangeable values. Gratitude expresses someone who understands what they have and shows appreciation toward their belongings, job, life, etc. Employers value people who demonstrate happiness in their situations. A working-class individual won’t complain about everything they don’t have to their employer. That attitude portrays them as an ungrateful employee, which no boss or coworker likes to spend time around.
8. Family-Oriented
My friend recently had a baby, and as a single mom, she decided to go back to school to provide extra resources for her daughter. Her passions and desires shifted to the back burner when she got pregnant. Her family became her primary concern. Since she doesn’t receive any monetary help from the baby’s father or her family, she must work on her own to support her family. Several working-class people commit extra hours to their jobs to provide better lives for their families.
9. Adaptability
The majority of jobs need adaptable people on their staff. Let’s use healthcare as an example. Say you work as a nurse with a specialty in allergic reactions. When a patient with a heart condition comes in, are you going to ignore them because they aren’t allergic to something, or are you going to switch to the basics of nursing and quickstart their care? On the other hand, employers enjoy staffing people willing to learn skills outside their comfort zones or expertise. People prove their eagerness to progress through the workforce by adapting to ever-changing conditions and rules.
10. Budgetary
Chances are, people identified as working class have bills to pay and a budget to stick to. Say someone makes $40,000 a year; they make around $3,300 each month. They know how much of the money goes to rent, savings, other bills, and fun expenses.
11. Honesty
Honesty works hand in hand with respectability and responsibility. Honest workers alert their bosses of issues within their work despite the circumstance or position the situation leaves the worker in. This behavior establishes a strong foundation between employer and employee, and eventually, the foundation builds a trusting work bond.
12. Accountability
Accountable people complete tasks when they tell their bosses they will. They won’t lolligag for hours, procrastinating doing the work. They do the work and report back once completed.
13. Loyalty
The best employees treat their jobs with respect and loyalty. An employee who demonstrates loyalty toward their job shows up on a consistent basis, respects their boss’ and coworkers’ boundaries and wishes, and commits to their job description.
14. Productivity
A successful working-class person performs a productive job. Not completing tasks could lead to negative feedback from a boss, shortened hours, and maybe termination. Productivity becomes synonymous with a treasured working-class citizen.
15. Patience
The workforce demands patience from employees. Workers must communicate with others during their shifts, which begs patience from both parties. Higher-ups learn to tone down their impatience while working with new hires, and customer service workers master the art of remaining calm during customer communications.
16. Determination
Determination is an overarching value of a working-class person. These people show up to work every day, despite their reality at home, and work their scheduled hours. Maybe they don’t favor every minute of the job or take a particular liking to their line of work. Yet they understand that to get where they need to go, they must put in the work.
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