Work Ethic Scenarios

You take a bus to and from work. Today your shift ends at 10:00 pm, but you finish all of your jobs by 9:30 pm. What should you do next?

• Leave quickly so you can catch the bus at 9:40 and get home sooner.

• Ask your supervisor for more work to do until 10:00 pm, then catch the bus at 10:10.

• Hang out in the break room until 10:00 pm, then catch the bus at 10:10.

• Keep working or hang out in the breakroom, as long as you stay until 10:00 pm.

Which ending to the following statement best describes you?

When I need to leave the house at a certain time, ...

• I am usually ready a few minutes early.

• I am usually ready right on time.

• I am often a few minutes late.

• I start getting ready when it's time to leave.

If your work shift starts at 9:00, when would be the BEST time to arrive at work?

• 8:00

• Around 8:45

• 9:00

• Anytime before 9:15

Your shift ends at 2:30. Your boss told you to mop the floor before you leave. It’s 2:30 and you haven’t finished mopping yet. You should:

• Stop mopping--finish it during your next shift.

• Ask your co-worker to finish the mopping.

• Finish the mopping even though you will leave late.

• Stop working. It’s more important to leave on time than to finish the mopping.

You are busy stocking new merchandise when your phone rings in your pocket. There are no customers or workers nearby. You should:

• Ignore the phone. You can check the calls when you take your break.

• Check your phone--it might be your mom calling.

• Answer your phone--you can talk and stock merchandise at the same time.

• All of these answers are OK.

Your favorite task at work is helping the customers, but today your supervisor asks you to unload boxes, a task you don’t like. You should:

• Politely tell your supervisor that you’d rather do something else.

• Unload the boxes quickly, but not carefully. If you make some mistakes, the boss won't assign you that job again.

• Be the best box-unloader you can possibly be!

• Go help customers--it's what you're best at.

You are busy filing reports when you notice 2 of your co-workers drinking coffee and talking about their favorite video game. What do you do?

• Tell your supervisor whenever you see someone who isn’t working.

• Stop filing and go say hello to your co-workers to be friendly.

• Ignore your co-workers and keep filing.

• Tell your co-workers that they will be fired if they keep talking.

You are restocking items at the grocery store. It’s almost time for your break, but you can’t figure out where this bottle of shampoo belongs. You should:

• As long as it's in the shampoo aisle that’s good enough.

• Ask a co-worker or your supervisor for help.

• Look again more carefully to see if you can find the right spot.

• Look again to find the right spot, then ask a co-worker or supervisor for help.

You had a good day at work--you finished all your tasks and didn't make any mistakes. You should:

• Go ask your boss for a raise.

• Tell your co-workers you are the best employee.

• Come in late the next day to reward yourself for a job well done.

• Feel proud of yourself and try to have a good day tomorrow, too.

You just spent a long time working carefully on a task. Your supervisor tells you that you made a mistake and will have to do it all over. You feel yourself getting frustrated. What will you do?

• Take a deep breath. Ask the supervisor to explain what you did wrong and then re-do the task.

• Complain to your co-workers that the boss is unfair.

• Tell the boss you quit--you're not cut out for this job.

• Take a deep breath. Politely explain to the boss that it's not your fault and you should not have to do it over.