Kansas City workers contribute 50 percent more value added per hour than the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Here, says one plant manager, the culture of entitlement pales. Number crunchers who track work force absentee rates find that Kansas City area residents show up at work more often than their counterparts most everywhere else in the nation. Perhaps one can credit the pioneer spirit. An executive with corporate experience from coast to coast says he finds a barn-raising attitude here, even though most Kansas Citians are generations removed from the homestead.
Construction crews tackle the job even amid the sweltering days of a Kansas City summer.
The city's reputation for a strong work ethic didn't come from its individualistic, space-seeking travelers on the westward trails, though. It came from some- times harnessing group energy to pull together. Since then, big projects have come in fits and starts. Sometimes the population unites, despite geographic and political divisions. Mostly, though, Kansas Citians take care of home and family.