GENDER AND ATTITUDES TOWARD WORK

This paper presents some differences between men and women regarding t heir attitudes to work and the implications of those attitudes regardi ng counselling. The subjects were 300 Polish students (150 men and 150 women) and 306 German students. The study is part of a larger collabo rative research program conducted in 43 countries by Lynn (1991). The results are presented against the background of Weber's (1929) Protest ant work ethic, Schumpeter's (1934) theory of competitiveness, McClell and's (1976) theory of achievement motivation, and Wiener's (1981) the ory of low valuation of business. All of these theories seek to show t he relationship and influence of the psychology of the individual, as that is manifested in attitude, on the economic growth of a nation. Th e results of the present study support Wiener's theory that the ''soci al status'' of business occupations play an important role in the grow th of economies. They also reveal that men are generally more concerne d than women, with the attitudes, and values, that am considered as a motive power of economic growth.