It's not beyond amusing, the protestant work ethic is the tradition from where a lot of nations have derived their work ethic from. Just like the Japanese derived their work ethic from their traditions, bringing it up is just clearing the way that yes, it's a religion-originated way of thinking about work, there's nothing wrong about that and you getting hung up on it is what's truly beyond amusing.
> Lastly, you're trying to shift the discussion by claiming "best way possible" as opposed to others saying "do the bare minimum". These are very often not the same.
Because the discussion gets murky exactly at this point. Doing the bare minimum means not going out of the way to solve issues for others, like Americans working outside of their working hours and bosses expecting that should be done. I have many work colleagues in the USA who are beyond annoying by trying to prove themselves by working outside of what they are paid for, with the thought they should go "above and beyond" instilled in their minds. It just creates issues for other cultures who do not prize themselves in sacrificing their lives for the job.
The other side of it is doing the best work you are willing to do, with the limitations you currently have (skill, health [physical or mental], time, etc.), that's what I call "bare minimum" for myself. I won't be wasting my time trying to come up with new products, new paths of generating revenue, simply because I'm not paid for that, when I am in that spot I definitely offer the best help I can but I won't be fighting political infights, depriving myself of a life to work another 2h/day to setup a new project for some higher ups, and so on.
> I am advocating that yes, do the best you can do. Take joy, deep internal joy in doing your job correctly, because of what you build. This indeed does not mean doing the bare minimum, by some broken, made up rationalized excuse.
You don't need to take deep internal joy of doing your job correctly, at all, one just need to have a work ethic that doing your job correctly is the right thing to do, it's what I'm being paid for, and that's the bare minimum. If that means I can slack off a little bit because I'm aware I can deliver what's expected so be it.
Perhaps we are talking past each other here because I do not disagree mostly with you, I probably just disagree with your approach to it (and hence what I called a derivative of the protestant work ethic).
> As I said, a good work ethic is not a protestant thing, it is a human thing.
Not necessarily, if your work is bullshit and you are not paid enough for it without much chance to do something else because of life's circumstances there's absolutely no inner motivation to have good work ethic.
> We can expand this to everything. What are you being compensated for? Are your ethics formed around what's profitable?! Madness!
Much the opposite, what's profitable is usually the least of my concerns ethically-wise, I would even say it is most times detrimental to ethical behaviour.