protestant work ethic

[AllYourBase]

I heard somebody being described as having a good "protestant work ethic". What does this mean about them?

[jno]

that they come from northern Europe, or their ancestors did - that's where Protestantism sprang up - and work hard, like good Germans/Scandinavians/Brits, unlike lazy Latins in the Catholic countries further south who are supposed to spend their time eating, drinking and sleeping. I think this one has been put about by Protestants.

[acw]

Yes - it does sound a LITTLE like self-promotion doesn't it!  Either way, I think it's meant as a compliment and that they're hard working. 

[Peter Pedant]

Work their arses off.

The Americans (WASPS) use it about themselves a lot.

[jno]

wasps, before anyone asks = white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, the former American ruling caste.

[Quizmonster]

Click here for a website that explains the source and significance of the phrase.

[mango64uk]

Basically a Sociological term designed by Max Weber.

Here is a definition from the net

The Protestant work ethic is a biblically based teaching on the necessity of hard work, perfection and the goodness of manual labor. Protestant preachers preached on the goodness and the necessity of manual labor and its efficacious effect for humans personally and on Christian society as a whole. Protestant preachers saw this as a salve or a correction for original sin.

The term was first coined by Max Weber who was the ?youngest? of the German Historical School. It is part of old American culture of the 1800's and is seen by some Americans as one of the cornerstones of national prosperity.