Ideal Worker

The concept of the ideal worker includes a clear, relentless commitment to paid work. Working long hours and not allowing distractions outside the paid work environment to interfere with the job, including family and personal facets of life, often exemplify an ideal worker's commitment to paid work performance. The ideal worker does not take time off. Ideal worker terminology most often references those in higher positions of the paid workforce hierarchy. Ideal workers are usually salaried as opposed to hourly workers and often have some level of prestige or leadership in their paid work role, such as working as a manager or executive in a white-collar, salaried position. The true ideal worker varies slightly among different careers; however, certain behaviors bring the ideal worker to life, such as pursuing high-profile assignments and new opportunities, getting to know supervisors and decision makers in companies, letting the supervisor know abilities and willingness to perform, advertising accomplishments, learning company politics, and asking for help when it is needed.

The birth of the concept of the ideal worker is often traced back to the early 20th century, when the predominance of paid work transitioned from familial centered into the public sphere. The number of paid jobs in offices and factories increased dramatically. As this shift in the paid work environment occurred, gendered expectations became more apparent and prominent. Whereas women were expected to embrace the household responsibilities of caretaking and homemaking, men were to be the financial providers.

The gendered role of masculinity, most often expected of males, became intertwined with paid work roles. The ideal worker model was constructed from cultural prescriptions in the early 1900s. Two-parent heterosexual families began to function with the expectation that one person (the woman) worked in the home full time, unpaid for her work to maintain the family, while the other (the man) worked outside the home and earned money. This structure allowed for the birth of the ideal worker norm. The man was afforded the opportunity to demonstrate his complete commitment to work, in whatever avenue was required, including arriving early, leaving late, not taking time off, and staying focused on the paid work all day because another person was supporting him by taking care of all of the personal and familial responsibilities in his life. This was a reality for two-parent families who were able to afford this family structure. Paid work responsibilities and careers were built around these expectations thus, the cultural norm identified quality employees, who were completely committed to work, as ideal workers.