Effects of Work Ethos on Creativity
Kurjono Kurjono
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Dr Setiabudi 229, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Creativity, work ethos, vocational school students.
Abstract: This study reported the importance of improving education in work ethos in order to createstudent creativity
in establishing entrepreneurial attitudes. The objective of this study is to identify the effect of work ethos on
the creativity of vocational students. Therefore, it can be easily identified indicators that should be maintained
and improved. This present study applied the creativity theory by Mac Kinnon. In this study, the involved
research population was all students of vocational school in Bandung and 345 students were chosen as the
samples. In addition, the data were collected using questionnaire and then the data processing was executed
using a linear regression analysis. The results of this study showed that work ethos education had a positive
effect on creativity (15.2%) and the remaining 84.8% was influenced by other factors. Based on the findings
in this study, it was found that the highest creativity variable indicator could be found in terms of the creative
product. On the other hand, the indicator of work ethos variable was solidarity. As for the further studies, it
is suggested that there are some indicators that should be improved covering the creativity variable that is
creative process, while work ethos variable is productive.
1 INTRODUCTION
In general, internalizing creative attitudes is
considered as one of the important aspects in the field
of entrepreneurship. In fact, establishing the attitude
of creativity becomes a valuable thing and as can be
means of changing conditions which should be more
paid attention. With respect to the study on creativity,
there are a number of studies discussing creativity
that have been conducted. Based on the aspect of
social interaction creative personality, creativity can
be maximized through human resources and
motivation can be maximized through a capability
(Zixiang, 2017). In addition, the collective awareness
of the students can also improve creativity (Soonhye
Park et al, 2006). In this regard, the role of teachers is
crucial in assisting the children in the early
development of creative thinking (Leggett, 2017).
Through peer discussion, it is immensely effective in
improving the creative performance of the students
(Shijuan and Masao, 2016). The studies on creativity
focusing on the processes which assert the different
ways of thinking in fact are needed to generate ideas
(Csikszentmihalyi 2003; Richards 2010). Creative
thinking involves the complex activities of ability and
cognitive skills, personality and motivational factors,
styles, strategies and metacognition skills (Runco
2013). In addition, the good environments encourage
the students to have an imaginative game. In this
regard, the time and materials are prepared as
requested and the chance for the children to begin
playing a game is protected (Root-Bernstein and
Root-Bernstein 2006). An American researcher
maintains the importance of creativity in order to
produce new and beneficial products for society
(Amabile, 1983).
In principle, in order to improve student
creativity, it is not only viewed from improvement of
the learning process in the classroom, but also it is
needed to find other alternatives to improve student
creativity. This objective can be achieved through the
improvement of behavioral aspect and examples
related to student psychological factors, such as the
ability to perform a routine work in the field of daily
activities which is called as work ethos. Based on the
studies conducted in the mid-1950s, it was found that
British people were considered to be aggressive, shy,
quiet, conscious of the class, law-abiding, and they
had high-minded ideas, either among themselves or
among others. (Gorer, 1955). Several years later, a
more in-depth study was carried out and it was found
that there were thirty main characteristics made as a
contribution by the British people. In this regard, they
were considered to have a strong sense of
responsibility, self-confidence, good solution for the
setbacks, honesty, independence, law-abiding, etc.
(Tayeb, 1984). As massively mentioned above, there
Kurjono, K.
Effects of Work Ethos on Creativity.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (ICEEE 2017), pages 373-377
ISBN: 978-989-758-308-7
Copyright © 2017 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
373

are many studies on creativity. However, there is no
known study concerning on the effects of work ethos
on creativity. Therefore, this current and important
issue will be unearthed in this present paper. In
relation to the main issue discussed in this paper, this
present study will focus on the effects of work ethos
on creativity.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
An expert argues that the environment indeed has an
effect on the development of one's ability to be
creative (Shallcross 1985). The environment
surrounding the students, either teachers or fellow
students, has a strong influence on the development
and improvement of student creativity. Based on the
various definitions of creativity, in principle,
creativity is defined as (1) a creation of something
that originally did not exist (Suryana 2006); (2)
replacing something with something simpler and
better (Zimmerer, 1996). According to MacKinnon,
the most important thing in relation to the definition
of creativity is to see the creativity based on the four
aspects consisting of creative personality, creative
process, creative situation, and creative product
(Munandar, 1988). With respect to the theory of
creativity used in this study, this study employed the
theory as proposed by MacKinnon, which sees
creativity as a multi-faceted phenomenon and it is
measured by the four indicators covering creative
personality, creative process, creative situation and
creative product (Munandar, 1988).
Hornby (1995) defines ethos as the characteristic
spirit, moral values, ideas or beliefs of a group,
community or culture; spiritual characteristics, moral
values, ideas or belief of a group, community, or
culture. According to Sinamo (2005), work ethos is a
set of positive behaviors that originally comes from
the fundamental beliefs accompanied by the total
commitment to an integral work paradigm. In this
study, the work ethos consists of mental attitude
developments whose mental indicators include:
responsibility, rationality, high discipline, hard work,
thriftiness, productivity, and futuristic ways of
thinking (Tisnasomantri, 1995, Adiwikarta, 1988).
However, the work ethos that fosters social spirit
consists of cooperation, tolerance, solidarity and
social orientation (Disman, 2004). Particularly, in the
field of education, one of the important factors in
improving creativity in schools is the role of teachers.
Moreover, work ethos can be learned through
learning processes that can stimulate and improve
ways of thinking, attitudes, and creative behaviors of
the students. Based on the correlation of both
variables as mentioned above, the hypothesis of this
present study is that work ethos has a positive effect
on creativity.
3 METHODS
The method employed in this present study was a
quantitative method through an explanatory survey
design. In addition, the data was collected through
circulating the questionnaire that had been initially
tested in terms of its validity and reliability. With
respect to the research population, this study involved
6740 students and all of them were the vocational
school students in Bandung. On the other hand, 345
students were then particularly measured using the
formula technique by Michael and Isaac (Sugiyono,
2004). In addition, the variable of this present study
was the work ethos variable in which its measured
indicator consisted of: responsibility and rationality
(Adiwikarta, 1988), discipline, thriftiness,
productivity, hard work (Tisnasomantri, 1995:
Disman, 2004), futuristic ways of thinking, tolerance,
solidarity, cooperation and social orientation (Disman
2004,). However, the measurement of creativity
variables (Y) was indicated through the indicators
consisting of: creative personality, creative process,
creative stimulant, and creative product (Munandar,
1988). In this part, the data were collected using
questionnaire that had been initially tested in terms of
its validity and reliability. In this study, descriptive
statistics was employed as a means of analyzing data
and it was also helped by the data in the form of
tables. In addition, the linear regression statistical
technique was employed as a means of testing the
hypothesis.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Result Study
As the results of this present study, the response of
involved respondents towards the work ethos
variables can be seen in the following table.
ICEEE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Economic Education and Entrepreneurship
374

Table 1: Work ethos
Indicators
%
Information
Responsibility
56,46
Medium
Rational
55,88
Medium
Discipline
60,17
Medium
Efficien
58,84
Medium
Productive
52,00
Medium
Hard work
58,03
Medium
Future thinking
60,12
Medium
Tolerance
58,61
Medium
Solidarity
60,64
Medium
Collaboration
57,68
Medium
Social Orienter
59,13
Medium
Total
58,03
Table 1 indicates that in general the work ethos is
in the moderate condition (58.03%). In addition, it is
obvious that the highest indicator can be found in
solidarity (60.64%) and the lowest one can be found
in terms of productivity (52.00%). As a result, it
shows that the work ethos of social aspect becomes
the main concern for vocational school students in the
case of work ethos indicators. As it is known that the
social aspect of solidarity is an important factor in the
formation of creativity. Also, through solidarity, the
cooperative relations will be well maintained. A good
relationship in the community is immensely
important if the knowledge and skill mastery of
vocational school students is also good, either during
the learning practicum and internship. This view is in
accordance with the opinion of Disman (2004), he
asserts that solidarity is a part of the work ethos.
Obviously, the responses of the respondents towards
creativity can be seen in Table 2 as follows.
Table 2: Creativity
No
Indicators
%
Information
1
Creative person
58,75
Medium
2
Creative Process
54,50
Medium
3
Creative
Encorage
58,77
Medium
4
Creative Product
59,48
Medium
Average
57,87
Based on Table 2, creative products are
considered as the highest indicator (59.48%). On the
other hand, creative processes are considered as the
lowest one (54.50%). In addition, based on Table 2, it
is clear that creative products have more attention
based on the view of the vocational school students.
In this regard, the learning process of vocational
students is not only to master the concept but also
they are encouraged to master the skills used as a
means of producing the products. In fact, the creative
products are important for the vocational students.
This study is in accordance with the studies
conducted by Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein
(2006). They found that an environment that supports
the children encourages an imaginative play in which
the time and materials are provided as requested and
chance for the children to play soliter game or play
together is protected. Interestingly, it is also in
accordance with the opinions of Amabile (1983) and
Runco (2013) which state the importance of creativity
in terms of producing new and beneficial goods for
the society. In relation to the period of high creativity
skills, it can be easily found at the age of 4 to 6 years.
Table 3: Result of Regression Test
Variable
Coef.
Std. Error
t-Stat
Prob.
Work ethos
0,235
0,30
7,909
0,00
Based on Table 3, it shows that Y = 15.551 +
0.235X with the sig <0,05. It indicates that the
hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, it is proven that
work ethos indeed has a positive effect on creativity.
In other words, it implies that the higher the work
ethos score is, the higher the creativity score is. As a
consequence, the higher the work ethos education is,
the higher the creativity of the vocational students is.
The results of this study show that the work ethos can
be learned through the learning process. Accordingly,
learning process can stimulate and improve the ways
of thinking, attitudes and creative behaviors of the
students.
Table 4: Magnitude of Effects
𝑅
2
Adj. 𝑅
2
Std. Error of the
Estimate
0,393
0,152
3,52253
Based on Table 4, it is obvious that R square is
0,152 or 15,2%. It shows that work ethos an impact
on creativityby resulting in the number of 15,2%
while the remaining number of 84,8% is influenced
by the other unexamined factors.
4.2 Discusion
As indicated by the results of this study, it shows that
work ethos has a positive impact on creativity through
the equation of (Y = 15,551 + 0.235X). Therefore, it
shows that the higher the work ethos is, the higher the
creativity of the vocational students is. In this regard,
Effects of Work Ethos on Creativity
375

working ethos is obtained through a good
environment, either in the family or in the school
environment, or even in the social environment. In
line with the aforementioned opinions, Shallcross
(1985) also asserts that an environment has an impact
on the development of a person's ability to be
creative. Through this environment, the interactions
of students in the family and outside of the family can
take place. Therefore, there will be a process of
learning work ethos. Undeniably, creativity is the
result of learning. Accordingly, the work ethos has a
positive correlation with the creativity.
Tisnasomantri, (1995) argues that it is identical with
the excellent people that there is a developed self-
concept. As a result, this concept can make an impact
on their ways of behavior. In particular, this self-
concept consists of idealisms in human life that can
be realized in reality in the forms of thriftiness, hard
work, honesty, and many more. Excellent people are
those who have high creativity. This view is in line
with the view of Isaksen, Puccio, and Treffinger
(Siau, 1995). They say that in order to improve
creativity optimally, the support from the
environment to a particular person should be optimal,
either from the parents, teachers, community, or their
own friends.
Creativity variables can be explained by the work
ethos variable in the number of 15,2%. It indicates
that work ethos is an important variable to be
considered in explaining the creativity variables. In
fact, there are many methods applied in order to
develop and improve work ethos since the work ethos
is regarded as a set of positive behaviors which
originally comes from the fundamental beliefs
accompanied by the total commitment to an integral
work paradigm (Sinamo, 2005). A high work ethos
can be identified from responsibility, rationality,
discipline, thriftiness, productivity, hard work,
futuristic ways of thinking, solidarity tolerance,
cooperation, and social orientation behavior of the
students. If these elements are possessed by the
students, they will be helpful in the improvement of
creativity. Certain communities which have an
advanced cultural value system will have a high work
ethos. In contrary, some other communities which
have a conservative cultural value system will have a
low work ethos, and may even have no work ethos
(Novliadi, 2008: 10).
Based on the above understanding, it can be
assumed that students who have a high work ethos
score will have positive creativity. Therefore, the
work ethos should be improved and it should be more
paid attention by education organizers, either in the
family or school environment. In the light of this
concern, family is the first environment in the
learning process and it is considered as the most
important environment in fostering the work ethos.
As a result, the intensity of interaction and social
contact is supposed to be paid attention (Munandar,
1988). Therefore, the since-birth potential along with
all its shortcomings should be paid attention,
especially in terms of its roles in the interaction with
the environment (Semiawan, 1996).
5 CONCLUSIONS
Serving as the end of the paper, it has been proven
that work ethos in fact has a positive effect on
creativity, the better the work ethos the higher the
creativity of the students. Nevertheless, it is also
found that there are several indicators that must be
maintained and improved. In particular, the indicator
of creativity variables that should be intensively
maintained is the creative product and the one that
should be improved is the creative process. The
indicator of work ethos variable that should be
maintained is the solidarity. On the other hand, the
indicator of work ethos variable that should be
improved is productivity.
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