Jonathan Klemens 'The Protestant Work Ethic: Just Another' Urban Legend

Jonathan Klemens’ definition of the Protestant work ethic found in his essay, “The Protestant Work Ethic: Just Another 'Urban Legend?'" pulls inspiration from Max Weber. Klemens’ takes the religious aspect out of Weber’s definition and transforms it from a three part definition to a four part definition. The first part of his definition is passion which is closely followed by commitment and hard work. The fourth and final aspect is innovation. According to Klemens these four parts are essential to a successful and efficient work ethic.
Klemens argues that a good work ethic comes from passion. A productive work force must be passionate in order to produce work that is not subpar. From this passion stems commitment and hard work. Without passion

there is nothing to create a stable commitment. From commitment to one’s work comes the want to be the best which leds to hard work. The second and third parts of Klemens’ definition stem from passion. The fourth and final part of Klemen’s definition is not something that stems from passion.
While passion can carry the work ethic pretty far, it is innovation that will lift the work ethic to it’s highest potential. Innovation is not something that can be taught, it stems from the desire to do better and be better than what was the previous best. This is key to Klemens’ definition, without innovation the work ethic will not live up to its potential. Klemens’ says that a successful work ethic comes from workers who not only serve the greater good but the needs of the workers.