According to a new survey, three-quarters of Dutch employees do not view the financial crisis as any reason to work harder into the evening by doing overtime.
This is in addition to having the shortest work week in the world.
This attitude holds especially true for people under 25 and those with over 45 years’ experience. Both these groups felt little or no pressure from their employers to change their work habits during the crisis.
Research bureau Motivaction asked 1.400 people about their work ethic to uncover that young people have been let down by their educational experience.
Frits Spangenberg, director of Motivaction and a sociologist, said that young people have often heard "that they are unique and special, but what they want and the reality are far apart."
According to Spangenberg, the time where employees were able to determine all their work conditions for themselves seems to be over.
"Due to the crisis, employers can opt for flexible personnel who are willing to work that bit harder. That is happening more and more."
The research found that loss of motivation was particularly strong in the elderly care sector.
Here employees want to do more, but it results in disappointment and frustration when employers do not meet their expectations.
Labour psychologist Frank van Luyten also sees this in situations where companies say employees are important, only to then instigate a reorganisation that negatively affects their confidence.
"Therefore," he said, "many employees consider their salary to be increasingly important and we seem to be becoming more and more materialistic."