work ethic
7 synonyms and 3 antonyms for work ethic, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A person's attitude to work, and how hard, reliably and conscientiously they apply themselves to it.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
A person's attitude to work, and how hard, reliably and conscientiously they apply themselves to it.
“Her work ethic is the reason she was promoted twice in a year.”
Opposites
2. noun
A shared belief within a culture or organisation that hard work is virtuous and worth doing for its own sake.
“The company's work ethic runs on long hours and little praise.”
How to use work ethic
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Two words, not one; "workethic" is always wrong. Almost always modified — a strong, poor or relentless work ethic — and a staple of job applications and references, where it risks sounding like filler unless backed by an example.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between work ethic and work rate?
Work rate is how much you get through in a given time, a measure of output. Work ethic is the attitude behind it — turning up, taking care, finishing what you started. A high work rate with a weak work ethic produces fast, sloppy work.
How do you describe a strong work ethic on a CV?
Do not just claim it. Show it with something checkable: a deadline you met under pressure, a process you improved, a period of cover you took on. Recruiters treat the bare phrase "strong work ethic" as filler.
What is the Protestant work ethic?
It is the idea, associated with the sociologist Max Weber, that certain Protestant beliefs encouraged disciplined labour and thrift, and that this attitude helped shape modern capitalism. It is a much-debated historical argument, not a settled fact.