From a netfriend:

The problem is what we mean by “work ethic” – in the States I’ve seen mostly 3 forms. The Puritan work ethic was simple: Do your work as unto the Lord, because work is a form of worship of God. It is based on the idea that all vocations are spiritual and glorify God – not just those serving the church. However, working hard had another benefit, namely that it generated a lot of wealth, and after a couple generations in New England, as the Puritan influence faded, the newer generations’ Unitarian work ethic replaced worshiping God with the accumulation of material affluence and greed. A third and more folksy work ethic, however, developed on the American frontier, which emphasized that hard work for the benefit of the family and community was good and helped everyone.

The 3rd doesn’t bother me much, except in that it lacks a strong Biblical undercurrent. The 2nd is soul corrosive and the one I strongly disagree with. The 1st, however, I think is the richest and most meaningful.”