Increasing Human Efficiency in Business

Another reason why the motive of social prestige has no effect in the more humble

positions is that in business we have practically abandoned the standard of the artist and adopted that of the capitalist. The artist"s standard is diametrically opposed to the capitalistic standard. We honor the capitalist not for what he does, but for the money he gets for what he does. We honor the artist for what he does and never because of the monetary considerations which follow his creation.

_To subst.i.tute the standard of the artist for the standard of the capitalist would be impossible in business, yet a harmonious working of the two is possible_.

Such a harmony was probably present in the old industrial guilds, which developed a cla.s.s consciousness creating its own ideals. Within the guild the most skillful workman had the highest honor. The work itself, independent of the money which might be received for it, was uppermost in the worker"s mind.

The executive seeking to stimulate love of the game among his workmen should in some way see that social approval attaches itself

to the work as such and not to the wage which is secured by means of the work. The workmen must be given an interest in the work as well as in the wage.

Executives everywhere find that "getting together" with others engaged in the same work is most stimulating. We are inspired by the presence of others engaged in the same sort of work and giving approval to success in our particular field.

_The third condition for securing a love of the game is that the work itself must appeal to the individual as something important and useful_.

Its useful function must be apparent, and the necessity and advantage of perfect performance must be emphasized. I play golf because the game permits me to a.s.sert myself and engage in independent and exhilarating activity. My devotion to my professional tasks, however, is dependent upon the fact that I regard psychology, whether the work be in research or instruction, as of the greatest importance to science and to mankind in general. The work as a whole and all the

details of it seem to me to be important. In performing my daily tasks they seem to me to be worthy of the most persistent and enthusiastic effort.

Doubtless there are cla.s.ses of work incapable of appealing to individuals as does my work to me. But in many instances work seems menial and ign.o.ble because it is not understood. It is not seen in its relationships and broader aspects.

The single task as performed by the individual is so small and so specialized that it does not seem worth while.

The dignity of labor demands that the workman should respect the work of his hands.

He should look upon his accomplished tasks as of inherent dignity independent of the monetary recompense to be received.

To keep the workman"s efficiency keyed up, the employer should see to it that this broader aspect of labor is emphasized and that the day laborer finds some reason for his labor besides his wage. It is the only game he may ever have time to play. It is to the interest of

himself, his employer, and society at large that he should enter enthusiastically into it and be enn.o.bled by it.

_Professional, technical, and vocational schools are serving a n.o.ble function in emphasizing the dignity of the work for which they are preparing young men_.

They are more and more presenting the broader aspects of the subjects taught. Even the altruistic and extremely technical aspects of the subject are found profitable. The narrower and apparently the more practical course does not result so successfully as the broader and more cultural ones.

The boy who goes direct into work from the public school is not likely to cordinate his task with the general activity of the establishment, and he is not likely to see how he is in anyway contributing to the welfare of humanity by his work. He needs to be shown how each line of industry and profession serves a great function, has an interesting history, and is vitally connected with many of the most important human interests. He should learn

to see how the different cogs are essential and worthy factors in the total process. The boy who thus comprehends his task looks upon it and is inspired by it in a way that would otherwise be quite impossible.

Some of the most successful houses have been so impressed with the importance of this form of industrial education that at their own expense they have established night schools for new employees as well as for those who have been years with the firm. Not only are the students taught how to perform their respective tasks, but a broader program is attempted.

Sometimes an attempt is made to lead the students to appreciate the dignity of the particular activity in which the firm is engaged.

The history of the firm is then fully presented so that the employees will comprehend the part the house has actually taken in the world.

Some firms try to show each man how his work is related to the work of the house as a whole and to other departments. In various ways schools and individual firms are successfully attempting to inject a n.o.bler regard

and appreciation for labor. The result is most gratifying and manifests itself in increased enthusiasm and other expressions of the increased love of the game.

The three conditions which we have been considering for developing the love of the game are quite different, appeal to the different sides of the individual, and are not all equally applicable to the young man who seeks to become a leader among his fellows or to the manager of men who seeks to develop leaders.

The att.i.tude of independent, creative responsibility appeals to our individualistic and self-centered self. It is an att.i.tude that may be a.s.sumed by the ambitious young man and encouraged by the manager. It is absolutely indispensable for developing this much-coveted love of the game in any form of useful endeavor.

It is readily a.s.sumed or developed in the chief executive, but may be developed in subordinates with great difficulty.

Social prestige appeals to our selfishly social natures, and yet the desire to secure this

social favor is in the main enn.o.bling. It is of special value to the manager of large groups of men. The manager may create the social atmosphere which is most favorable to the development of the love of the game in his particular industry.

The last condition discussed, regard for the work as important and as useful, makes its appeal to our n.o.bler and what we might in some instances speak of as our altruistic selves.

This condition is equally serviceable to the ambitious youth and to the successful superintendent of men. We all look out for number one, but appeals made to the higher self are not unavailing. We are most profoundly stirred when we are appealed to from all sides.

However, the love of the game will never be universal in the professional and industrial world. We can scarcely imagine the millennium when all employees would cease to despise their toil and cease to serve for pay alone.

CHAPTER IX

RELAXATION

AS A MEANS OF INCREASING HUMAN EFFICIENCY

_Be not therefore anxious for the Morrow_

A STUDY of the lives of great men is both interesting and profitable. In such a study we are amazed at the records of the deeds of the men whom the world calls great. The results of the labors of Hercules seem to be approximated according to many of these truthful accounts.

In studying the lives of contemporary business men two facts stand out prominently.

The first is that their labors have brought about results that to most of us would have seemed impossible. Such men appear as giants, in comparison with whom ordinary men sink to the size of pygmies.

The second fact which a study of successful

business men (or any cla.s.s of successful men) reveals is that they never seem rushed for time.

_Men noted for efficiency almost never appear to be hurried. They have plenty of time to accomplish their tasks, and therefore can afford to take their work leisurely_.

Such men have time to devote to objects in no way connected with their business. It cannot be regarded as accidental that this characteristic of mind is found so commonly among successful men during the years of their most fruitful labor.

According to the American Ideal, the man who is sure to succeed is one who is continuously "keyed up to concert pitch," who is ever alert and is always giving attention to his business or profession. As far as the captains of industry are concerned, such is not the case.

They devote relatively few hours a day to their strenuous toil, but they keep a cool head and a steady hand. They are always composed, never confused, but ever ready to attack a new problem with their maximum ability. They

follow the injunction of Christ expressed in His Sermon on the Mount: "Be not therefore anxious for the morrow."

Of all the nations of the world, Americans are supposed to be the hardest working. We have attributed our industrial success to the fact that there is a bustle and snap to our work which are not equaled in any other country.

But recent students of the industrial world are now telling us that even in the case of day and piece labor this characteristic is frequently a weakness rather than an advantage. They say that the American product "suffers from hurry, want of finish, and want of solidity."-- "Industrial Efficiency," Arthur Shadwell, Vol. 1, p. 26.

_In the great middle cla.s.s of American society, there is a lack of repose and an absence of relaxation which astonishes foreign observers_.

They tell us that we are wild-eyed and too intense. Dr. Clauston of Scotland is quoted as saying:--

"You Americans wear too much expression in your faces. You are living like an army

with all its reserves engaged in action. The duller countenance of the British population betokens a better scheme of life. They suggest stores of reserved nervous force to fall back upon, if any occasion should arise that requires it. The inexcitability, this presence at all times of power not used, I regard as the great safeguard of our British people. The other thing in you gives me a sense of insecurity, and you ought somehow to tone yourselves down. You do really carry too much expression, you take too intensely the trivial moments of life."

The late Professor William James of Harvard makes the following pertinent remark concerning the overtension of Americans:--

"Your intense, convulsive worker breaks down and has bad moods so often that you never know where he may be when you most need his help,--he may be having one of his `bad days." We say that so many of our fellow-countrymen collapse, and have to be sent abroad to rest their nerves, because they work so hard. I suspect that this is an im-

mense mistake. I suspect that neither the nature nor the amount of our work is accountable for the frequency and severity of our breakdowns, but that their cause lies rather in those absurd feelings of hurry and having no time, in that breathlessness and tension, that anxiety of feature and that solicitude of results, that lack of inner harmony and ease, in short, by which with us the work is apt to be accompanied, and from which a European who should do the same work would nine times out of ten be free... . It is your relaxed and easy worker, who is in no hurry, and quite thoughtless most of the while of consequences, who is your efficient worker; and tension and anxiety, and present and future, all mixed up together in one mind at once, are the surest drags upon steady progress and hindrances to our success."--"Talks to Teachers," pp. 214- 218.

Mr. Joseph Lyons, who is recognized as one of the particularly active and efficient men of England, has taken great interest in the way things are done in America. And after ob-

serving us at work here he expressed himself as dissatisfied with the tension under which we work. His words areas follows:--

"I do not believe in what Americans call hustling. The American hustler in my opinion does not represent the highest type of human efficiency. He wastes a lot of nervous power and energy instead of accomplishing the greatest possible amount of work for the force expended. Judging the American hustler from my observation of him in his own country, I should say that the American hustler shows a lack of adaptation of means to ends because he puts more mental, physical, and nervous energy into his work at all times than it demands. Regarded as a machine he is not an economical one. He breaks down too often and has to be laid off for repairs too often.

He tries to do everything too fast."

When Mr. Lyons was asked to explain how he had been able to accomplish so much without hustling, he replied: "By organizing myself to run smoothly as well as my business; by schooling myself to keep cool, and to do

what I have to do without expending more nervous energy on the task than is necessary; by avoiding all needless friction. In consequence, when I finish my day"s work, I feel nearly as fresh as when I started."-- Quoted from _New York Herald_, Aug. 30, 1910.

RELAXATION A PHYSIOLOGICAL NECESSITY

_The necessity for relaxation is adherent in the human organism. Even those life processes which seem to be constant in their activity require frequent periods of complete rest_.

The heart beats regularly and at short intervals, but after each beat its muscles come into a state of complete relaxation and enjoy a refreshing rest, even though it be but for a moment. Likewise the lungs seem to be unceasing in their activity, but a careful study of their action discloses the fact that every contraction is followed by a perfect relaxation, and that the rest secured between successive respirations is adequate for recuperations.

In all bodily processes the same alternation is discovered. No bodily activity is at all con-

tinuous. Mental processes, too, can be continued for but a very short time. By attempting to eliminate these periods of rest for bodily and mental acts, we merely exhaust without a corresponding increase in efficiency. The laws of nature are firm and countenance no infringement.

The periods between activity and rest, as well as the durations of the two processes, may be changed. Thus, up to a certain limit, the periods devoted to activity may follow more rapidly and endure longer. There is, however, a danger point which may not be pa.s.sed with impunity. The danger signal may manifest itself in several ways: The over- trained athlete becomes "stale"; the over- worked brain worker becomes nervous; the overworked laborer becomes indifferent and generally inefficient.

In all these and in similar instances, the amount of energy expended is out of proportion to the results of the labor. The athletic trainer has learned to guard against overtraining and is severely condemned for making

such a mistake. The brain worker often regards overwork as a commendable thing.