It's time to stop complaining about the lack of work ethic in your emerging workforce and use an HR strategy to revive it, says a new book.

Whether they are called "millennials," "Gen Y," or something else, business leaders and employers often lament that these employees may have an education and technology skills, but they don't have the work ethic that is required to be successful in today's workplace.

"The work ethic among teens and twentysomethings has flatlined," says Eric Chester, author of the new book, Reviving Work Ethic: A Leader's Guide to Ending Entitlement and Restoring Pride in the Emerging Workforce. "It's time to stop complaining about the lack of work ethic you see in your emerging workforce and take steps to revive it.

“The payoff is huge. After all, your future depends on your ability to instill within these employers the work ethic they should have learned at home and school, but didn't," said Chester, who interviewed more than 1,500 employers and business owners to understand what work ethic looks like from their perspective.

"In this tumultuous employment climate, I can tell you who's getting hired and promoted—-positive, enthusiastic people who show up for work on time, who are dressed and prepared properly, who go out of their way to add value and do more than what's required of them, who are honest, who will play by the rules, and who will give cheerful, friendly service regardless of the situation," he says.

Chester offers five strategies to employers who want to revive work ethic in their organization and who ask, "How can I motivate employees?"

1. Carefully examine the core values that you demand from every employee. Create a definitive list of no more than ten, starting with the nonnegotiables of honesty, reliability, respect, and professionalism.
2. Revisit your hiring process to see how you're evaluating job candidates based upon these values. Make certain you're asking questions that get them to describe in detail how their past work-related performance demonstrates the values you hold sacred (e.g. "Tell me about a time when you overcame a significant challenge to finish a project on schedule." "Give me an example of a rule or policy in a previous job you found stupid. Did you comply with it?")
3. Examine your training program to see how you can integrate these concepts into your present skills training.Remember: it's not enough to simply mention values or provide a warning to those who do not exhibit them. For the values to be internalized, they must be integrated into training and daily mentorship.
4. Take significant measures to foster a workplace culture that is centered around your nonnegotiable core work ethic values. Begin meetings by allowing employees to share personal examples of how they went out of their way for a customer, overcame a challenge to arrive at work on time, chose to do "the difficult right" as opposed to "the easy wrong." Share your own stories as well.
5. Celebrate work ethic. Talk about people (employees, associates, even celebrities) who you believe exhibit great work ethic and provide examples. When you see great work ethic exemplified by your employees, recognize and reward it with praise, awards, impromptu celebrations, or even incentives. Remember that what gets rewarded gets repeated

Note: The first three chapters can be downloaded for free by going to Chester's Facebook page, and clicking the "Like" button.