The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-23

know all too wcll. and the nipe-hour day
| leaves Httlc time for recreation, The six
| hour day is supposed 10 close al o'clock
| in the afternoon. which gives ample time
! for rest and personal affairs.
| IT The siN-hour day is tried out on q
somewhat large scale in actual practice
the results accomplished must at least
| equal the present system on it Will be
considered a failure and will be given
up. II is claimed for the siX-huur idea
that the workers will actually accom-
pllsh more In six hours. under one long.
steady pun. than they will in the whole
divided day at present. So far the
matter is but theory, but 1t has cx-
cited much discussion in Salt Lake rail-
road Offices OF late
odd as It may seem. many OF tho clerks
are quietly opposed to the Idea, 1t
sounds all right said one OF them re-
Gently but who would expect To see
the office closed At : o'clock when there
the farmers cicht-hou systcm-eight
hours before dinner and eight hours after
dinner.
Judge Men by Results.
"Thcrc are many men who never Judge
by results. MI they can see is the effort
man makes, not what he accompljshes.
The man who makes the hardest work
of his job, who puts In the longest hours
and gets the least results. this man is all
too often thought to be doing the hardest
and best work. \ man right alongside
OF him, by the use OF a little modern
system and gray matter. may put forth
only half the effort in two thirds of the
boss, although he gets far better re-
suits.
Those BOSSES who judge by results
will approve the siX-hour day ii II gets
more work done. but the other kind of
boss, and he is In the big ma iority, who
wants 10 see everybody busy for every
minute he can get them TO stay in the
try a lunch hour after the days work,
and then another six-hour rush.
The idea Is all right, but it depends
on what kind of a man is in
charge of the office. The siX-hour con
tnuous day would certainly weed out the
poor men, but it Would not weed out the
poor boss-it would make him worse;
How TO mako a perfectly fair test
OF the new idea is hard TO say. An office |
full of good men under poor boss would
do poor work under the SIX
hour plan just to get back 10 the pres |
nnt system, SO as TO protect themselves.
ON the other hand. a good boss with
poor office would have To go back Ia the |
present system. So how could any one |
ell. under such which are |
seen everywhere in both phases. as there
arc as many poor bosses as there arc
Door men-whethcr the siX-hour idea was
4 good one or note 1t would fail in
Zach case from exactly opposite rea-
sons.
Office Politics.
"Then there is stu another side to the
question. II every man specded up TO do
lis pest, me pest mon WOuld set lace
hat the others In the office could not
ollow. and this would lead TO office
,olitlcs' TO get them out OF the way. a
wise man in an office keeps only one
tep ahead of the rest. otherwise he has
he whole office force secretly against
lin and they will get his job by fair
means or foul, sure as fate. just TO pro
ect themselves II he is not fired they
vii be, and. ethics aside, self-preserva-
ion is tho first law of nature.
you may speed UP the force as
rhole under the siX-ho scheme but
ou cannot speed up the best individuals
nless you pay them in proportion to the
csults they get There are two sure ways
( losing your iob--bc a better man than
our boss and he Will fire you TO protect
is own job. do more work than your
elbow workers and they will secretly
ombnc 10 queer you and get you fired
II OF which is called office politics
Before the siX-hour system is thor
ughly tried out IL must be looked at
rom the bottom up well as from the
op down. Personally. | would rather