Omaha daily bee., 1919-08-03
Selecting Free Workers.

SeleCt1ng Free WORKERS.
Are these what Roosevelt called
weasel worSs?" Does the selection
tion" suck the meaning out Of the
freedom?" How can that which is
selected be free? asks the Literary
Digest. We select suit of clothes
or motor car; but the suit and the
car have no say in the matter. This
is perfectly true unless the selec-
ton is based on an ascertainment
of fitness and preference. The mo-
tor car has no say because it is not
built that way; but to have prefer
ences and to act upon them is the
exact and particular way in which
man Is constructed; and selecting
him for anything must take this into
account-must act on a recognition
OF the fact that he is a human being
and not a mere thing. DR.. Henry
Clayton Metcalf, who writes on Sc
lection and Placing Of Workers" in
Industrial Management New York.
June), lays great stress on the in
l1uence of the workers surround
lngs. Nothing, he says, influences
man more than his work k-environ-
ment. unless it is, peyhaps, his
religious conviction. He goes on:
The work-environment is highly
dynamic. 1t is full of energy and
operates all the time. 1t influences
us fundamentally during our walk
ing hours. In the work environ
ment we find those things that we
care most about, the Wherewithal
10 Dllrrh1Sp food oh II
ing, and the money with which we
satisfy our higher development
wants. One great English economist
has stated that the work environ
ments, as well as people, have chill
dren.'
IF, then, the work environment
influence us so fundamentally for
good or for i'll, it is Of the first i'm
portance that there should be the
greatest freedom in occupational
choice. Freedom in occupational
choice Is the greatest goal of So
clety. In selecting and placing
workers. then, everything possible
should be done to discover native
talents and place prospective work.
ers IN the work positions where
tney Will have the greatest oppor-
tunlties to discover, train and de-
Velop their personal powers.
Prof. John A. HObson, one Of the
keenest students of the human in
depreciation of industry, declares
that the forced consent Of the vast
majority of the people Of the world
to work against their will Is the
heaviest drag upon the car of hu-
man progress This quotation con-
tains a vital truth in helping us
bear in mind the importance Of re-
adjusting the work rk-environment so
that talents may function normally
and grow and develop.
The true object Of selection and
placement, then, is to discover and
protect organic man. This means
that mans physical welfare must be
conserved in every way, and in
cludes the idea of careful initial
physical examinations, periodical
examinations, the right length of
work day, rest periods, wholesome
hygienic condHions-everyth in
fact, that affects physical welfare"
The conception of organic man
further demands, according to DR..
Metcalf, that mans desire to create
be given every opportunity in the
k-environment. This, the selector
should bear in mind, is the basis
or all the training program in all
his placement work. He expresses
his conviction that in the proper
understanding and release of the
creative desire in the average man
will be found as great fund of
wealth as the world has discovered
IN steam and machinery. He goes
on:
The conception of organic man
further comprehends the importance
OF understanding the desire to own
or possess. This means that those
responsible for selecting and placing
workers must see to it that every
opportunity is given to satisfy this
normal instinct to own. This gives
US the concrete basis for the study
or initial wages. progressive re-
wards, and non-financal incentives,
profit-sharing schemes, and all
forms of ownership.
Again the conception Of organic
man demands that we appreciate the
normal desire to associate. The
values of friendship which came
from cooperation in the earlier days
OF industry have been largely de-
stroyed by modern machinery. The
machine has broken the brother
hood bond and much of the dis
cord, chaos and waste in industry
today are due to the fact that the
normal desire to associate is
thWarted, baked and manned. This
normal, human desire to associate,
which can be translated into great
human asset by those who are re-
sponsible for selecting and placing
workers, should lead personnel
workers to do everything they can
to conserve and satisfy this normal
desire.
Once more, the desire to ap-
preciate the beautiful is normal in
the average human being. Very lit
tie has thus far been done in the
business world to translate this nor
NAL human desire into a business
asset. Our most progressive busi-
ness leaders, however, are conscious
of this human power, and are con-
structively utilizing it in the work.
environment.
Finally, in our organic concep-
ton of the human unit in the work
environment, we should never for
get that however thoroughly physi-
cal welfare may be cared for; how
ever fully we may satisfy the crea-
tive instinct: however thoroughly
we satisfy the desire to own; how
ever fully we meet the sense of as
sociation and care for the esthetic
longings, we must never forget that
the fundamental sense of justice
must be satisfied. This is absolutely
essential if we are to have harmony
and efficiency in the business
world"