Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-01
THE BUSINESS OF GETTING
AHEAD.
Your job Is Your Boss.

| William Feather, business philoso-
pher of Cleveland. relates this story
about a young woman whose employer
| told her she might stay home on Sat
urday.
| Instead of rejoicing at the thought
of an extra holiday, she declined with
| thanks, saying:
mo, I'd prefer to work. My job
is my boss, and l don't see how l can
manage to take the time Off
And, in drawing moral, Mr.. Feath-
er adds: Jobs, and the responsible
ties which they imply, boss us with
a discipline that is more strict than
most of us would care to acknowledge.
The wise employer always tries to
unload definite responsibilities and
duties on his employees. because he
Knows that this is the way to get the
best work done. The employer who
is a hog for responsibility Is short
sighted because the employe without
responsibility is an employe without
a good disciplinarian.
Never Free of Bosses.
Sometimes people get tired of be-
ing bossed and they ache to be in
business for themselves so they will
be free of bosses. Silly thought! AS
though any one was ever free of
BOSSES"
Men on their own are bossed by am
bition, by a consuming desire to adj
vance, by an eagerness to work out
a new formula, discover new and
simpler way to render an old service
or to forge a novel instrument of con-
venience. Such self-directed efforts
boss the individual more relentlessly
than a stubborn and inconsiderate
foreman. The energetic man who is
working for himself exacts more of
himself in the way of unremitting
labor than an outside employer would
dare to.
When an individual ceases to be an
employe and sets out on his own he
does not rid himself of boss. And
yet many men are happier in work
ing harder for themselves than for
others. There is a liberating force
in being on your own, bossed only
by the necessities of the Job rather
than by the arbitrary will of a super
visor who may not be all-wise and
sympathetic. And yet the trend is
in the direction of making a larger
proportion of men employees rather
than independent venturers. Large
corporations and other employers
should make themselves aware of the
willingness Of individuals to be bossed
by their job rather than by inconsid-
crate supervisors. Large.scal indus
try is a cooperative effort and much
is to be gained psychologically by
making each individual feel a per.
sonal responsibility for his own con.
tribution to the product Response
bility begets dependability and inter-
est. Undue supervision breeds resent
ment.
The Sense of Creation.
Employers frequently fail to under
stand the yearning of employees for
short hours. That is because employ
ers forget that directing a large en-
terprise is usually more interesting
than performing routine and monoto-
nous tasks. The real joy of work
comes from sense of creation and
sense of adventure. Making work in
teresting is the key to making produc-
ton more efficient. Each employee
should be made to feel that he is an
essential link in the cooperative
chainI that his constructive sugges.
tions will be welcomed and rewarded.
Men resent the idea that they are a
mere cog in the machinery, incapable
of thinking and unworthy of CRAP
ping with the larger problems of in
dustry.
When job genuinely captures the
imagination of an individual, he is in
greater danger of overworking than
of Sinking. Successful business men
are frequently happy only when they
are at their desks. A Greek sense of
roportion-nothing too much-is de-
sirable in determining what proper
ton of your mental and physical
energy shall be devoted to the tasks
at hand.