(10 of 12)
Much of the blue collar worker's lost sense of self could be restored by evidence that his employer cares about him, if only in little ways. Do the managers eat in the same cafeterias as the men, share the same parking lots? Are management's decisions clearly—not condescendingly—explained? Does the company offer small, appreciated extras, like Ford Motor's provision of a tow truck with jumper cables to help any worker who cannot start his car on winter nights? Companies are trying to find more and more incentives for executives, and Rosow argues that they could extend some of those ideas, like profit-sharing plans, to the men down in the plants. Health and safety conditions, he adds, "require dramatic improvements" —and higher federal standards.
Companies that neglect to consider the blue collar workers' worries and dissatisfactions pay a hidden price in low production, goofing off, absenteeism, high job turnover and union grievances. By contrast, management's reward for concerning itself more deeply and more knowledgeably about the blue collar worker's cares has been an increase in productivity. That, in turn, is the key to raising labor's living standards and meeting the demands for more leisure. Since World War II, U.S. productivity has risen an average of about 3.3% annually, but for the whole period from the end of 1967 to early this year it increased less than 2%. Lately, output per man-hour has rebounded, but only as a result of layoffs and the shutting down of older machines. (U.S. plants are operating at only 76% of capacity, the lowest rate in almost a decade.)
Managers have discovered that at least in certain jobs, they can push productivity up by applying what labor economists call "participative management" and "job enrichment." The ideas are so new that only a handful of companies have tried them. One of the largest is Polaroid, where workers participate in planning changes in their job routines and help decide what new machinery to buy. They can also take company-sponsored courses ranging from English to engineering, either after hours or on company time, and they are encouraged to apply for higher positions. Polaroid officers say that the program has certainly enriched morale.
The notion of letting workers organize their jobs themselves instead of by the book might seem self-evident, since they know their own tasks better than anyone else does. It is most easily adopted in smaller companies, and it has been shown to improve production, quality and profits. Donnelly Mirrors of Holland, Mich., removed all its time clocks, put everyone on salary, and turned shop-floor decisions over to its employees. The company, which had sales of $14 million last year, has raised its profits roughly 20% annually in recent years and has lowered prices 25% since 1952. It has also given its employees a yearly bonus. When workers in Donnelly's largest department asked for raises last May, management suggested that the money would have to be saved; within three weeks the employees found ways to save the company more than twice as much, chiefly by cutting purchasing and materials costs and altering production procedures to trim waste.