The Importance of Work When this country was born, the Puritans had to work hard to ensure the success of the new state. To make work more attractive, the Puritans emphasized the fruits of labor. This attitude, reflected today by the act of “working for a living,” is considered a “badge of pride.” Puritan attitudes toward work and the attitudes of two modern writers toward work all agree that the act of working has virtuous effects, an attitude I share because of my professional experience (Clee and Clee 233- 234). Three different attitudes toward work, expressed by several writers I have recently studied, agree that hard work produces positive rewards. Henry F. Bedford, professor of history at Phillips Exeter Academy, and Trevor Colbourne, professor at the University of New Hampshire, examine the Puritan attitude toward labor in their book The Americans: A Brief History. Puritans emphasize the goodness of work by linking it to religious beliefs. Laziness is a sin, but the Puritans also pointed out that it was self-defeating. Leisure is even considered a “bad temptation” (Bedford and Colbourne 235-238). Marge Piercy, a modern-day poet, essayist, and novelist, attempts to explain why work is desirable in contemporary terms in her poem “To Be of Use.” For Piercy, hard workers who truly persevere are admirable because the world is full of temptations to stop working, or not work at all. This admiration for determination is evident because the work is “as common as mud” and must be done one day (Piercy 242-243). Wendell Berry, professor of English at the University of Kentucky, explains the basis of the desire to work in his essay “The Joy of Work.” In response to the prediction that there will be no work in the future, Berry highlights the importance of work to human nature..