One of the over-riding concerns expressed by HR directors, CEOs and shift supervisors in our dataset as well as with others was problems with what they called "work ethic." I put the term in quotes because it means different things to different people, so making assumptions that it means the same thing across the board is a poor assumption.
That said, one VP summed it up nicely: "I'd rather have a B- student who knows how to interact with people and will show up for work, than an A student who is a jerk and has lots of excuses about missing work." These results are consistent with a recent analysis I did on surveys from 181 manufacturers, as well as interviews I'd done this past summer.
