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of al! bluc collar workers feel con–
vinced rhar rhey have no chance for
promorion - rhar rhey had reached a
"dead-end." Orher surveys indicare
rhar evcn higher pcrccmages fcel rhey
can never expcct ro be promored
from rhcir present jobs.
P. Conigliaro: "The money
isn't the reason why the
workers are dissatisfied. The
money's good.... But .
you're looking ahead to
something better and i t
doesn't come."
Many workcrs becomc cynical
abour che opportuniries for advance–
mem wirhin che company. ··Promo–
rion depcnds on polirics in che
plam," says one trim worker ar Ford
in Derroir. Orhers complain of age
discriminarion againsr older workcrs
or younger workcrs. and racism and
oppressive management.
Opporrunities ro Jearn and grow
011
che job are also Jimired. Workers of–
ren cxprcss the desire ro Jearn more
abou r rhc skill and knowlcdgc neces–
sary for rheir prcscnr job. Bur mosr
blue collar work is nor dcsigned for
chis. As one assembly-linc worker put
ir, •·Ar firsr, rhcre's some learning.
Bur once you know how, rhar's all
rhere is. You can'r do <tny berrcr.
You can only be sarisfacrory."
Mr. Rosow amiburcs rhcsc limira–
rions in growrh ro lack of cmploycc
educarion. "One of che biggesr rea–
sons why upward mobiliry in bluc
collar work is slighr is becausc whilc
14
largc segmcnrs of
socier~
have be–
come bcrrer educared, che average
blue co llar workcr has nor."
Bur berrer cducarion does nor
automarically guaranree aJvancemenc.
Even a Ph.D. isn'r going ro progress
roo far if he srarcs on rhc assembly
line. He might evenrually advance
from headlighrs ro fendcrs, bm nor
much furrhcr if he srays on the linc.
Thac's
che
way such jobs are designed.
Faulty
W
ork Concept
Finding rhemselves caught in un–
fulfilling. unrewarding jobs which
lack meaning and purpose, blue collar
workers balk ar the idea of becoming
a "human machine" for che resr of
their working lives. But che cause of
the problem is che
wrong philosophy
around which mosr blue collar jobs
have been designed.
This philosophy goes somerhing
like chis: The average human bcing
has a basic dislike of all work under
all condirions and will avoid ir if he
can; rnosr people muse be coerced, di–
recred, and threarened wirh extreme
punishmem ro ger rhem ro produce;
and, che average person has relarively
lirde crcariviry and ingenuicy.
Henry ForJ summed up rhat phi–
losophy in 1922 wirh rhese words,
"The average worker wanrs a job in
which he does nor have ro pur forrh
much physical efforr. Above all,
he
wanrs a job in which he does nor
have ro rhink."
Hercin lies che
cr11x
of che wholc
blue collar problem. This philosophy
appears absolutcl}' correcc
mnong work–
ers whose jobs are boring {ll/d frmtrating.
Pcople deprived of opporrunicics
ro sarisfy rhe necds which are impor–
ranr ro rhem at work bchave exactly
as we mighr predice - wirh inJo–
Jence, passivity, unwillingness ro ac–
cept responsibilicy, and unreasonable
dcmands for econornic benefics.
Much of che modern industrial
monolirh has beco rigidly built upon
rhis faulry work concept as if ir "vcre
gospel. As a resulr, man has been sub–
ordinared ro che machinc racher rhan
che machine ro man. Human dcvelop-
mene and achievemenr have been
greatl y sriAed.
Thc wasre has been rrernendous -
ro che man living an unfulfilled, un–
happy life ar work, ro che company in
rerms of decrcased producrivity, and
ro sociery
in
lose human potencial.
Needed: J ob Enrichment
Sorne managers havc begun imple–
menring a number of work innova–
rions designcd ro makc rourinc jobs
more challengi ng . One of
che
mosr
successful involves changing whar an
employee acrually does on che job.
"Job enrichmcnt," as ir is termcd,
seeks ro improve borh task efficiency
and job sarisfacrion. Ir builds inco
people's jobs che job morivarors -
recogni rion, achievemenr, responsi–
biliry. and growth. In shorr. irs pur–
posc is ro introduce che facrors rhar
really satisfy workers on rheir jobs.
The average rnan on che assembly
line who fixes boles da)' afrer day isn't
going ro be "turned on" by his job
no marree how good
che
pay, super–
vision or working condirions ma}' be.
Unlcss his job - whar he acrually
does - is made more meaningful, he
is srill going ro experiencc frusrrarion.
Job enrichmenr is perhaps one of
che firsc organized efforcs ro recognizc
rhc valid work principie rhat mercly
providing good companr policy, saJ–
ary, working condirions, and super–
vision does nor auromarically bring
job sarisfacrion.
There mu:,t be more.
[f one's rask is boring prior ro any
of rhese changcs, ir i:. no less boring
afrcrward. Ir may be easier ro tolerare
in che shorr run, but ir sriiJ lacks che
cssenrial ingrcdienrs of long-range
mocivarors.
Proponenrs of job cnrichmenr say
rhar ir essenrially involves changing
allitude.r
-
of borh workers and su–
pervisors - more cban anyrhing clse.
Giving rhc workcr more responsi–
bilicy for deciding how ro proceed,
for scrring goals, and for rhe excel–
Ience of rhe produce are integral pares
of mosr programs.
The enrichmenr idea is quite clear
PlAIN TRUTH November 1972