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State Teachers College Libra r
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU, NO. 116
A STUDY OF A CHANGE FROM ONE SHIFT
OF 9 HOURS TO TWO SHIFTS
OF 6 HOURS EACH
Su
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, SECRETARY
WOMEN’S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU, NO. 116
A STUDY OF A CHANGE FROM ONE SHIFT
OF 9 HOURS TO TWO SHIFTS
OF 6 HOURS EACH
ETHEL L. BEST
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1934
the Superintendent of Document!, Washington, D. C.
CONTENTS
Page
Letter of transmittal_________________
Introduction_____________________
Summary___________________
Preference for a 6-hour or a 9-hour day___
Reasons for preference______________
Preference as to morning or afternoon shift
Fatigue in 9-hour and 6-hour day_________
Use of leisure__________________
Arrangement of meals___________________
Personal history________________
V
1
3
4
6
7
9
10
12
13
nr
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women’s Bureau,
Washington, October 19, 1933.
I have the honor to submit herewith a report on the effects
on women employees of a change in working hours and in shifts in
an industrial establishment. In June 1932 this plant changed its
workday from one shift of 9 hours to two shifts of 6 hours each. The
facts courteously supplied by the management were augmented by
data secured by the Bureau’s agents in interviews with 309 women
workers to obtain their conclusions and preferences regarding the
change.
Women’s Bureau Bulletin 105 presents comparable material for
a plant whose schedule was changed in 1930 from three 8-hour shifts
to four 6-hour shifts. I believe both studies are important in the
present economic conditions.
This report has been prepared by Ethel L. Best, industrial
supervisor.
Respectfully submitted.
Mart Anderson, Director.
Hon. Frances Perkins,
Secretary of Labor.
Madam:
A STUDY OF A CHANGE FROM ONE
SHIFT OF 9 HOURS TO TWO SHIFTS
OF 6 HOURS EACH
INTRODUCTION
In industrial plants there has always been wide divergence in
hours of plant operation as well as in hours of work. Operating hours
are determined by the demand for the product and the nature of
the process. Where there is a large market for the goods manufac
tured but it is not sufficiently stable to warrant increased equipment,
an extra shift frequently is added. Where the process is such that
continuous operation is necessary, as in steel, glass, or chemicals,
the plant operates 24 hours a day, with an occasional complete
shut-down for a short period for cleaning and upkeep. In continuous
operation, the hours of work of any one person do not coincide with
the operating hours, as from 2 to 4 shifts of workers are employed.
In plants where only one day shift is worked, however, operating
hours and the work hours of the individual normally are identical.
In plants with this one day shift or workday, a week of 48 hours
has been considered reasonably good except in certain industries
where, through mutual agreement or custom, the hours were 44.
However, in industries such as textiles, tobacco, and laundries the
weekly hours have been much longer.
Since 1930 there has been a tremendous increase in unemployment,
and to remedy this considerable numbers of plants have divided the
work among as many persons as possible, with the idea that half a
loaf is better than none. In some establishments groups of workers
have been employed alternate weeks, in others the working days of
each week have been divided among the workers, and in still others—
plants operating 24 hours—an additional shift has been introduced,
with an extra group of workers hired and hours on each shift corre
spondingly shortened.
In the plant discussed in the present study still another plan was put
into effect. This firm introduced two shifts of 6 hours on 6 days of the
week in place of one shift of 9 hours and a 4/2-hour Saturday. When
the two shifts of 6 hours are worked at full capacity the workers are
employed for 36 hours a week instead of 49% as formerly. Operating
hours were increased from 49% to 72, more people were employed, and
operating costs per unit of production were lowered.
The change to the 36-hour schedule took place in June 1932. With
the exception of a few departments where the process was a continuous
one and men only were employed, it affected the entire establishment.
The change to 6 hours was not made in these men’s departments, as
the volume of work at the time of the change required only a 3-day
week—too little to permit of any dividing of work and consequent
82848°—34
1
2
EFFECT OF CHANGE FROM 9 TO 6 HOURS
reduction of pay. The hours of the office force—8 and 44—were not
changed.
Under the 49/2-hour schedule a half hour on Monday to Friday was
allowed for lunch; the machinery was shut down, and this time was not
included in the daily operating schedule of 9 hours. Under the
arrangement of two 6-hour shifts, each worker is given a 13-minute
rest or lunch period, staggered so that other workers with the assist
ance of the supervisors can keep the machines in operation. This
time is paid for by the company. No food may be eaten in the work
rooms, but a cafeteria has been provided near the cloakrooms and only
one or two minutes’ walk from the workrooms.
Under the new schedule the number of women has increased. A
count made at two periods—October 1931 and October 1932—
showed an increase of 107.2 percent in the number of women em
ployed.
Some changes and economies have been put into effect. Formerly
each operator tended one machine on the line, but under the two-shift
system, with overhead belts and better delivery of material, each
woman operates two. Under the old system there was one packer
to a single line; under the new system each packs for one and one half
lines. In addition to supervising, the foreladies now help to instruct
new workers, a change that resulted in the elimination of an instructor
in each department and a saving in foreladies’ salaries when they
were reduced to the status of supervisors and instructors.
The number of men decreased by 17.3 percent; this was due not to a
change in hours but to a change in production methods.
The pay of all women workers was on a straight hourly basis both
before and after the change in hours, and with the exception of the
foreladies no alteration in hourly rates was made with the change to
shorter hours. Rates were from 27 cents to 33 cents an hour, varying
with the work and the experience of the worker, with slightly higher
rates for the supervisors.
Interviews were obtained by Women’s Bureau agents in visits to the
homes of 309 women, and the advantages and disadvantages of the
change from 9 to 6 hours were discussed. The same methods were
used and the same questions asked as in an earlier study by the Bureau
of a plant that had changed the hours of work from 8 to 6 a day.
There were, however, a number of differing conditions in the two
plants that affected to a considerable extent the opinions of the women.
The first plant surveyed had increased its hourly rates of pay so that at
the time of the study (1932) the earnings of nearly one fourth of the
women showed an increase; and though earnings of three fourths of
the women were lower than those of 1930 because of the shorter hours,
this decline was less than 20 percent for more than two thirds of the
women.
In the plant in the present study, in which hourly rates were not
increased, shortening the work schedule reduced earnings by 33
percent, those of foreladies declining even more sharply. Further
more, the plant frequently had to cut its 6-day week to 4 and even 3
days, with earnings proportionately less.
Of the other factors influencing women’s attitude in regard to the
change, the most important are these: (1) In the earlier plant surveyed,
the women, before the change, worked in three 8-hour shifts, 7 to 3,
3 to 11, and the night shift of 11 to 7, so that many had become accus
SUMMARY
3
tomed to hours other than a straight day shift and had already made
the adjustment in their home conditions. In the plant studied more
recently all the women had worked on the one day shift (7 to 4:30)
and the earlier opening and later closing with the two 6-hour shifts
were found inconvenient by many employees. (2) The majority of
the women in plant no. 2 are young and single, in contrast to an older
group in the first factory, who were married and had home respon
sibilities. This influence appears in the value placed on the extra
leisure afforded by the shorter work hours.
On the whole, the management of the present plant, like the earlier
one, feels that the change has been a success. More people have
been given work, hourly production has increased slightly, the expense
of the cafeteria is lower with no heavy meals served in the plant, and
the cloakrooms and washrooms are less crowded. In fact, the
management hopes, as business improves, to place the men in the
other departments on four 6-hour shifts, so that the entire plant will
be operating on a 6-hour basis.
SUMMARY
FACTS REPORTED BY MANAGEMENT
The change from one 9-hour shift to two 6-hour shifts was made in June 1932.
The number of women employed increased by 107.2 percent between October
1931 and October 1932.
Hourly production increased slightly, due to the better upkeep of machines;
all machines were not in use on either shift, and in case of a break-down work
could continue on the machines not in use, and repairs be made without holding
up production.
Cafeteria cost was decreased, as only light lunches were served.
FACTS REPORTED BY WOMEN
Schedule preferred
Of the 230 women who had worked on both the 9-hour and the 6-hour
schedules, only 13.9 percent expressed a preference for the 6-hour
schedule.
Of the 51 who had worked at this plant only under the 6-hour schedule,
47.1 percent preferred the 6-hour schedule.
Reasons given for preference
Principal reasons for preferring the 6-hour schedule:
More leisure.
Spreads work.
Less fatigue.
More time for home duties.
Principal reasons for preferring the 9-hour schedule:
Earn more money.*
1
Earn more; better routine.2
More regular hours.2
Shift preferred
Nearly one half of the women reporting on preference liked the morning
shift better than the afternoon.
Nearly three tenths of the women had no preference as to shift.
Use of leisure
Home duties.
Home duties, rest, and recreation.
Rest and recreation.
Extra sleep.
1 Hourly rates remained the same with the shorter hours, so earnings decreased in proportion to the
fewer hours worked.
1 Two shifts of 6 hours each were worked instead of one of 9 hours, so the beginning time of one was earlier,
and the ending time of the other later. Women worked on the shifts alternately—on the morning shift
one week and on the afternoon shift the next week.
32848—3t
-2
4
EFFECT OF CHANGE FROM 9 TO 6 HOURS
Arrangement of meals
The arrangement of meal hours was more difficult than on the 9-hour day.
Work on the morning shift was less upsetting to meal hours than work on
the afternoon shift.
Alternating the shifts each week made the problem of meal hours more
difficult to arrange; nevertheless, three fourths of the women preferred
this arrangement to working the same shift each week.
During the 13-minute lunch period allowed in the plant, food was taken
either regularly or occasionally on the morning shift by 90.8 percent of
the women and on the afternoon shift by 82.4 percent of them.
Effect on earnings
Hourly rates in general were unchanged and varied from 27 to 33 cents;
daily earnings were reduced one third by the change from 9 to 6 hours.
For supervisory work the rate was decreased; foreladies were reclassified
as supervisors or instructors and their pay was reduced.
Personal history
Nearly three fourths of the women were native born; only 6 percent were from
non-Eng]ish-speaking countries. Three fourths of the women (74.8 percent) were
under 25 years of age; only 3.2 percent had reached 35.
Two thirds of the women were single; only 3.2 percent were widowed, separated,
or divorced.
Nearly a fourth (23 percent) reported less than 6 months’ service in the plant,
due largely to the extra shift. About seven tenths (71.2 percent) of the women
had been 1 year or more with the firm; about one seventh, 5 years or more. A
greater proportion of married than of single women had been with the firm as
much as 5 years.
PREFERENCE FOR A 6-HOUR OR A 9-HOUR DAY
That women work to earn a living and not some extra pin money
is shown in the present study by the importance to the workers of the
amount in the pay envelop in comparison with several hours of
leisure. At the time of the survey, the late autumn of 1932, many of
the women interviewed were responsible not only for their own sup
port but for that of an entire family, and those living away from home
frequently sent part of their week’s earnings back to their families.
Though hourly rates were the same before and after the change to
shorter hours, the decrease in actual earnings was marked, even when
full time was worked. As the demand in the industry is irregular,
the work periods vary from 6 to 4 and even 3 days a week. The
following figures illustrate the difference in earnings between the old
hours and the new under full and short weeks.
Former
9-hour
shift,
5H days
Hourly rate
Lowest, 27 cents
_
$13. 37
16. 34
Present 6-hour shift on—
6 days
$9. 72
11. 88
4 days
$6. 48
7. 92
3 days
$4. 86
5. 94
When these effects are realized it is not surprising that only a fifth
of all the women reporting expressed unqualified preference for a 6hour day rather than one of 9 hours. Many who liked the shorter
workday agreed with the woman who said, “Six hours would be swell
if they would keep up the pay.” Another, who expressed herself in
favor of the 9-hour day, would have preferred 6 hours if work had
5
PREFERENCE FOR A 6-HOUR OR A 9-HOUR DAY
been steadier; “I should be crazy about 6 hours if we were sure of
5 days a week.”
It is not surprising to find that a much larger proportion of the
employees who had worked at the plant only under the 6-hour schedule
than of the women who had worked under the two sets of hours pre
ferred the 6-hour day.
Women who preferred—
Schedules worked at plant studied
6 hours
Number
Total_.
_ _
_______ __
Both 9 and 6 hours ____ ____ 6 hours only
__ _ _ _____
9 hours
Percent
Number
Percent
56
19. 9
225
80. 1
32
24
13. 9
47. 1
198
27
86. 1
52. 9
This difference may be attributed to the decline in earnings of
women who had experienced the two sets of hours and who were doing
the same work as before, while the woman who had never worked the
9-hour schedule compared the 6-hour day and its pay with her former
jobs or with no job at all. One girl said, “I’m lucky to get any job.”
For her there was no decrease from earnings considerably more
adequate, but a change from idleness to employment.
When a comparison is made of the women’s reactions to the reduced
hours in this plant and in the one surveyed 6 months earlier, the fol
lowing statement appears warranted: If there is sufficient work to
give full time to employees on the reduced schedule and the hourly
rate is increased so that weekly earnings do not decline too sharply,
the shorter hours are preferred by a large majority of the women;
but if the weekly hours are reduced, the volume of production does
not permit a full week’s work, and the hourly rates remain unchanged,
the reduction in earnings is so great as to overcome, in the opinion of
most of the women workers, the benefit of shorter hours.
Only one fifth of the women supplying such information in the
present study were favorable to the reduced hours, though in the plant
previously surveyed, where rates were increased and full time was
worked, over four fifths preferred the 6-hour shift to the longer one.
There were, no doubt, some minor factors influencing this result, but
the interviews brought out clearly that the principal reason for the
less favorable opinion in the present study was earnings.
Married women showed a greater appreciation of the 6-hour day
than did single women, while none of the women who were widowed
or not living with their husbands liked the shorter workday.
Preferring 6 hours
Marital status
Preferring 8 hours
Number
Total____
__
Single
_ _____ _
Married _____
Widowed, separated, or divorced
.------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Not computed where base less than 50.
Percent1
Number
56
19. 9
225
80. 1
31
25
16. 8
28. 7
154
62
9
83. 2
71. 3
Percent1
6
EFFECT OF CHANGE FEOM 9 TO 6 HOURS
REASONS FOR PREFERENCE
The 6-hour day
The three principal reasons for preferring the shorter day of 6 hours
were more leisure, spreads work, and less fatigue. The small propor
tion of married women lessened the importance of the reason “more
time for home duties.”
Women preferring 6 hours 1
Principal reason
Number
More leisure- ______ ____
_
Spreads work _
_
_____
Less fatigue __ __________
More time for home duties
__ __
_____
__ ______ ____ _____
Percent
18
14
10
7
34
26
19
13.
6
9
2
5
1 Total preferring 6 hours and reporting reason for preference, 52 women.
It is interesting to note that 14 women included among their reasons
for liking the change the fact that it gave work to more people. It is
not surprising that 5 of the women who approved the new hours were
among those taken on as a result of the change, but it is interesting
that 9 whose hours were shortened gave this benefit to others as one
of their reasons for preference. As a woman who personally did not
like the change expressed it, “If it weren’t for myself, I’d like the
6-hour day because I know it gives more people work.”
Increased leisure under the shorter workday was mentioned most
frequently as a reason for preferring the 6-hour schedule; spreads
work was given as a reason by 14 of the 52 women, and less fatigue
by 11.
The 9-hour day
The chief reason given by the women for preferring the 9-hour
day was its larger earnings. Of the 225 women (80.1 percent of those
reporting) who expressed a preference for the longer day, 83.6 percent
gave the difference in earnings as a reason and 63.1 percent gave it
as the principal reason.
Women preferring 9 hours 1
Principal reason
Number
Earn more money____________
Earn more; better routine _ __
More regular hours________ __
__
___ __
_
_
______
142
41
28
Percent
63. 1
18. 2
12. 4
1 Total preferring 9 hours and reporting reason for preference, 225 women.
The need of money, especially at the time of the survey, when many
of the usual contributors to the family income were unemployed,
requires no emphasis. A woman who had received an increase of 1
cent an hour just before the interview, expressed its importance to
her by the remark that she “was glad like everything.” In most
7
PREFERENCE AS TO MORNING OR AFTERNOON SHIFT
cases a dollar or so a week was more important to the women than any
reduction in fatigue or increase in leisure.
The preference for the day of 9 hours because of its larger earnings
was of equal importance to single and married women. Of all who
preferred 9 hours, about 84 percent both of single and of married
women mentioned earnings as a reason. The nine who were widowed,
separated, or divorced all were in favor of the longer day.
Single
Married
Widowed, sepa
rated, or divorced
Num Percent
ber
Num Percent
ber
Num Percent
ber
Principal reason for preference
WOMEN WHO PREFERRED 9-HOUR DAY
Total reporting..........__
.......
Earn more money.
- _____ ____
Earn more money; better routine___
More regular hours___ _______ __
154 100. 0
92
32
20
59. 7
20. 8
13. 0
62 100. 0
9
43
9
7
7
69. 4
14. 5
11. 3
0)
1
WOMEN WHO PREFERRED 6-HOUR DAY
Total reporting_____________
27
More leisure.___ - . „ ____ .
Spreads work-- ___
___ __
More time for home duties__ ______
Less fatigue_____ ______ ____
11
6
7
(')
25
(')
7
8
7
3
-
1 Not computed where base less than 50.
At the time of the survey the great number of unemployed men,
normally good wage earners, without doubt laid on the married
women more than the usual responsibilities, and a larger proportion
of married than of single women gave earnings as the chief reason for
preferring the longer day. The same thing probably made the
married woman less inclined to object to the inconvenience caused
by the different schedule of work and the weekly change of routine,
for both these were more frequently complained of by the single than
by the married woman worker.
Married women appreciated the shorter hours more than did the
single women. Either “more leisure” or “more time for home
duties” was mentioned by four fifths of the married women who pre
ferred the 6-hour shift, as compared to one half of the single women.
PREFERENCE AS TO MORNING OR AFTERNOON SHIFT
In any shortening of work hours, many changes and adjustments
are involved. Probably everyone would prefer working 3 hours less
each day if earnings remained the same and hours were as convenient
as before. In considering the reaction of the workers to the change
m the present study, it must be borne in mind that not only were
earnings less, but because of the introduction of the two-shift system
8
EFFECT OF CHANGE FROM 9 TO 6 HOURS
it was necessary to change the hours of work. The morning shift
began at 6 o’clock instead of 7; the afternoon shift ended at 6 o’clock
instead of 4:30. It is true that when the work begins at 6 it is over
at 12, and that when it ends at 6 it had not begun until noon. Many
of the women appreciated these advantages, but 1 in every 4 of those
visited objected to the new hours. The women alternated the shifts,
working in the morning one week and in the afternoon the next week,
so all the women visited had experienced both shifts.
Nearly one half (47.4 percent) of the 302 women reporting on pref
erence liked the morning shift better than the afternoon, and the chief
reason was that it gave more free time or more time at home. Nearly
three tenths of the women had no preference as to shift.
The increased time at home was the reason especially important
among the married women. Other reasons given for preferring the
morning shift were, “Time goes faster on the morning shift” and “I
like being through at noon.” One girl voiced the opinion of a
number: “When you go in the afternoon it’s on your mind all morn
ing; you don’t feel as free. I do like my afternoons free.”
The afternoon shift was preferred by about half as many women as
preferred the morning shift. Many of those who preferred the after
noon declared that it was less tiring to work then, as they did not have
to get up so early. With work beginning at 6 o’clock, it was necessary
to get up at 4:30 or 5, and in winter especially this was a hardship.
Some of the girls who lived at a distance from the bus line were nervous
during the early walk in dark and deserted streets. “It’s terribly
dark,” said one girl, “and I keep looking around to see that no one is
following me.”
There were 84 women, a little more than a quarter of all reporting,
who had no choice as to morning or afternoon shift. They felt that
the morning shift had its advantages and “gave you more free time”,
while the afternoon shift “let you sleep later in the morning and get
more rest.”
A larger proportion of the married than of the single women pre
ferred to work m the morning. The majority of these gave more time
for housework as the reason for their preference. The afternoon shift
was more favored by the single girl, as it allowed her to stay in bed
mornings after an evening’s recreation.
The advantages and disadvantages of the alternating shifts were
freely discussed by the women. The majority, 73.9 percent, liked
this arrangement better than to work continuously on either the
morning or afternoon shift. Many felt that when working on the
morning shift they got less rest and that in the alternate week they
had the opportunity to sleep later, while most agreed that you could
accomplish a lot more when you worked in the morning. Each had
advantages: The system “gives every one a fair deal”; “you get
rested one week; get a lot done the next.”
There was a larger proportion of married than of single women in
the group of 73 who preferred working the same shift each week. The
former found it less upsetting to their household routine, and, although
in each group there were individuals who had difficulty in changing
their routine of eating and sleeping from week to week, as a whole
both the married and the single women preferred the alternating
system to being on the same shift all the time.
9
FATIGUE IN 9-HOUR AND 6-HOUR DAY
If the same shift were to be worked all the time, the morning was
more popular than the afternoon, especially among the women who
were or had been married. When there were children, as was the
case with 34 women, 18 stated a preference for the alternating shifts
and 11 would have liked the morning all the time. The principal
reason for such preference was, as would have been expected, the
ability to be with their children when they returned from school as
well as the more uniform hours of meals in the home.
Shift preferred
Women reporting __ _____
Alternating ____
Morning
__
Afternoon________
____
__
_ _______
Single
__
Married
Widowed,
separated,
or divorced
1 189
82
9
146
24
16
54
23
5
7
1
1
i Includes 3 women who preferred 1 shift only but were not specific as to morning or afternoon.
FATIGUE IN 9-HOUR AND 6-HOUR DAY
A reduction of one third in daily hours may result in a considerable
decrease in fatigue, but other conditions accompanying the change
may counteract such decrease. How much the changed habits of
eating and sleeping may result, at least temporarily, in an increased
sensation of fatigue, it is impossible to estimate, but these changes
were frequently mentioned by the women interviewed. “Too hard
on you and too hard on your family to change your living habits every
other week.”
The largest group of women (42 percent) who had worked at the
same job under both hour schedules reported no difference in fatigue
since working the short hours. The time away from the plant was
felt by many to be so filled with home duties as to offset the rest they
might have enjoyed through the shorter work schedule. It was also
felt by some that the greater regularity of the longer day resulted in
less fatigue than did the change from one shift to another each week
under the 6-hour schedule. Of the 207 women who compared their
relative fatigue under the two sets of hours and whose job was the
same on both shifts, there was a fairly even division on this question.
Less fatigue from the 6-hour shift was felt by 28.5 percent of the
women and less from the 9-hour shift by 26.1 percent.
The work in the plant required close attention, and principally for
this reason the large majority of the jobs were rotated, that is, every
10 or 15 minutes the woman who was inspecting changed with the one
who was packing or with one operating the machine. As inspection
is a sitting job and the other two workers stand, fatigue is, in this way,
considerably lessened, but alternating is even more important for
the elimination of eye strain. The inspector must watch the product
as it passes by on a moving belt. This requires the closest attention
and is hard on the eyes, making the alternating system exceedingly
important to the worker.
In a change to shorter hours it is impossible to obtain very accurate
findings of its effect on fatigue because of the many other factors
10
EFFECT OF CHANGE FROM 9 TO 6 HOURS
involved. The extra leisure may be used not in rest or recreation
but in other work. At the time of the survey work was too scarce
for anyone to hold two paid jobs, but there was opportunity for
increased household duties; “If I don’t work in the factory, I work at
home”, one woman reported. The change in routine also resulted in
increased fatigue in some cases; “On the morning shift I am awake all
night watching the clock for fear the alarm will not go off.” Because
of the alternating shifts, one week working in the morning and the
next in the afternoon, some found it difficult to adjust their habits of
eating and sleeping. “It keeps you all confused, I never know where
I am—its mixing”, reported one woman, while another said, “ You
feel all muddled—it’s on your mind all the time.” Without doubt,
the numerous changes accompanying the shortening of hours so com
plicated the result that it was difficult for the girls to tell whether the
actual fatigue decreased, increased, or remained the same. The
following summary shows how the women reported as to fatigue:
Women reporting fatigue as—
Previous work
Same
Less
More
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
In same plant--------------------------------In other establishments-------------------
08
22
42. 1
36. 1
67
30
28. 8
49. 3
61
4
26. 2
6. 6
About one half of the women whose previous experience had been
on other work reported less fatigue on their present jobs. The
previous work of more than a fourth of the women reporting had been
in domestic and personal service, and in the majority of cases they
reported less fatigue on the 6-hour day than on their former jobs.
Of the 10 women whose experience had been in sales work and who
reported on fatigue, 8 considered it less under the 6-hour day. Among
the 10 formerly employed in clerical work, 5 declared the fatigue felt
was no greater after a 6-hour day in the factory than on their old
work; 3 found it less.
USE OF LEISURE
In any discussion of the use of leisure in a time of unemployment
or reduced earnings, it must be borne in mind that the uses of leisure
most commonly approved—for example, education and recreation
generally involve more or less expense, if only for car fare and suitable
clothing.
For most women the use of more free time through shorter plant
hours is determined to a great extent by the fact that they either keep
bouse or assist in household tasks. The girl living away from home
generally has a room or apartment that must be cleaned; usually
she must prepare her own meals and must wash and iron her clothes.
When a 9-hour day is worked in the factory, these household duties
are attended to in the evenings and week-ends. A workday of 6 hours
makes it possible to do many of these things in the extra leisure
provided.
11
USE OF LEISURE
Of the 309 women interviewed, 55.7 percent reported that they
made the same use of their leisure whether they were working in the
morning or the afternoon. The other 137 women, however, made a
different use of their leisure according to the shift worked. Two
thirds of the 168 women who reported the way they spent their
extra time and whose use of leisure was the same in the alternating
weeks, spent all or part of it in home duties. Over a fifth of the
number devoted the extra hours to rest and recreation, while a small
group (9) took piano lessons or courses in typing, show-card writing, or
beauty-parlor work. Only 3 women used their extra time for other
paying jobs: One cared for children, one delivered packages from
her father’s store, and a third, a French woman, gave French lessons.
Women reporting as to—
Morning leisure
Use of leisure
Afternoon leisure
Leisure with
either shift
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Number reporting
—------
Home duties- —
Home duties plus rest or recreation
Rest, recreation, or both-------------- -
Extra sleep-------------------------------------
135 100. 0
137 100. 0
168
100. 0
24
17. 8
15
10. 9
49
29. 2
59
9
43
43. 7
6. 7
31. 9
76
34
3
9
55.
24.
2.
6.
61
38
8
12
36.
22.
4.
7.
5
8
2
6
3
6
8
1
Though a good many women made the same use of their leisure
whether working in the morning or in the afternoon, another group
reported different programs according to the shift worked. More
time was spent in sleep when working in the afternoon and more in
recreation when working in the morning. One girl said she liked the
afternoon shift because she could sleep mornings and the morning
shift because it gave her a long afternoon. These sentiments were
quite generally shared.
_
Though not many girls were taking definite courses of study, a
number agreed with the girl who said, “It’s nice to have time for some
thing besides work; now I am reading good books that I never had
time for before—working people would improve themselves if they
had time.” With married women it was less the case of improving
themselves than of improving their homes, and it is not surprising
that more of their extra time was spent in home duties and less in
rest, recreation, or self-improvement.
4
Well over two fifths of the women reported some difference in the
use of extra time according to whether the morning or afternoon shift
was worked. More women spent this time on household care when
working on the afternoon shift than when they worked in the morning.
But the greatest difference was in rest and recreation and in extra
sleep. When beginning their factory day at noon, nearly a third of
the women slept late in the morning; when they worked in the morn
ing, about a fourth reported rest and recreation as the chief use made
of their free time in the afternoon. One girl on her free afternoons
12
EFFECT OF CHANGE FROM 9 TO 6 HOURS
“played lots more tennis” and went shopping, or out with a girl
friend; when mornings were free, she never got up until late even
when she had set the alarm for earlier.
ARRANGEMENT OF MEALS
The change from a regular day of 9 hours, with a break in the
middle of the day for lunch, to a shorter day with different schedules—
that is, different hours of beginning and ending—upsets to a con
siderable extent the routine of the home. The change is upsetting
not only to the habits of the worker herself but in some cases to those of
the entire family. In this study, when the morning shift was worked
the only dislocation was breakfast, as the other meals could be
eaten with the family at the usual time, but when the worker was
employed on the afternoon shift she often got up too late for the
family breakfast and left too early for the regular noon meal. Nearly
two thirds of the women reported that when on the afternoon shift
they combined breakfast and lunch. About a third ate both break
fast and lunch when working afternoons, but these were as a rule
housewives who had responsibilities that necessitated early rising.
About half the workers reporting stated that they ate the evening
meal, normally dinner, with their families; in 50 other cases the
family waited dinner and in 75 cases the woman ate alone.
When the afternoon shift was worked, in many cases no meal was
eaten with the family and the adjustment was very difficult for the
housekeeper. “Mother had to cook Thanksgiving Day dinner
twice—for my brother, who is on a different shift from me, and then
for me”; and “Well, mother is pretty disgusted with meals now”,
were two of the comments made.
.
Although work in the morning was more upsetting to habits of
sleep than work in the afternoon, the former was more easily adjusted
to family meal hours. When they worked on the morning shift,
breakfast was eaten alone by a little more than half the women and
no breakfast or simply a cup of coffee was taken by over two fifths,
so that only 6 of the 281 women living with their families had break
fast with the household before starting to work. Lunch and dinner
hours were not interfered with by the hours of this shift and these
meals were eaten with the family at the normal time.
Women reporting as to—
Arrangement as to meals
Morning shift
Number
No breakfast or cup of coffee
-----With household (regular breakfast)---------
Normal dinner hour with family--------------
Percent
158
131
10
52. 8
43. 8
3. 3
Afternoon shift
Number
3
98
175
75
50
130
Percent
1.1
85. 5
63. 4
29. 4
19. 6
51. 0
Included in this summary are the women who were rooming,
boarding, or keeping house with friends, comprising only a small
group (6.1 percent) of the women included in the survey. For these
13
ARRANGEMENT OF MEALS
the change of hours was less upsetting and the adjustment of meal
times easier. For both the women workers and their families the
fact that in one week the morning shift was worked and in the next
the afternoon made the adjustment of mealtimes more difficult
than if the same shift had been worked each week. Nevertheless,
in spite of this fact nearly three fourths (73.9 percent) of the women
reporting a preference liked the alternating shift better than constant
work on either the morning or the afternoon shift.
As already stated, a rest period of 13 minutes for lunch was allowed
during each shift. Three fourths of the women who reported on this
ate lunch regularly in the rest period in the afternoon; less than one
tenth as many reported doing so occasionally and only about one
sixth never took food at this time. An even larger proportion of
women ate lunch on the morning shift; more than four fifths took
food regularly, less than one tenth (8.9 percent) ate sometimes and
a like proportion (9.2 percent) never took food during the rest period.
Number
of women
reporting
Shift
Morning_ .
_
Afternoon
_. _. _
_
„
304
284
Percent taking food at rest periods—
Regularly
81. 9
75. 4
Occasionally
Not at all
8. 9
7. 0
9 2
17. 6
The need for food in a 6-hour shift was very generally felt, as is
shown by the fact that 81.9 percent of the women took food regularly
when working in the morning and 75.4 percent took it when working
in the afternoon. An additional 8.9 percent and 7 percent, respec
tively, ate occasionally.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Country of birth
The fact that the plant is situated in a border State and in a city
where there is a considerable demand for men for heavy work prob
ably explains the large proportion (27 percent) of foreign-born women.
By far the largest number were from English-speaking countries,
Canada or the British Isles being reported by 20.8 percent of the
women. The remaining 19 who were born outside the United States
came from 7 other countries, including such distant ones as Russia
and China.
Age
On the whole, the women were a very young group; 53.1 percent
were 20 and under 25 years and 21.7 percent were less than 20. Only
2 of the 309 women had reached the age of 40.
Women reporting
Age group
Total___ _____
Under 20 years
20 and under 25 years
25 and under 30 years
30 years and over____
-
_
-
Number
-- - _____
_____
_ _____
_
------- ----—
-----—
------------
Percent
309
100. 0
67
164
56
22
21.
53.
18.
7.
7
1
1
1
14
EFFECT OF CHANGE FROM 9 TO 6 HOURS
From the viewpoint of the management the most efficient age of
women workers was between 20 and 25, and the effect of this prefer
ence is shown by the iarge number in this group. The women of 30
years or more comprised less than 8 percent of the total, a considerably
smaller proportion than is found in most manufacturing establish
ments.
Marital status
The preponderance of women under 25 years (74.8 percent) would
indicate a high proportion of single women, and it is not surprising
that two thirds of the women were unmarried. Only 10 reported
their status as widowed, separated, or divorced; 94 were married.
Women reporting
Marital status
Number
Percent
309
Married _______
__
Widowed, separated, or divorced
-
_____
____- —
--
100. 0
205
94
10
66. 3
30. 4
3. 2
Length of service
The change to two shifts and the resulting ability to hire more
workers are plainly seen in the increase in the number of women with
less than 6 months’ service with the firm. Almost 1 in 4 women
reported less than 6 months of service and only 1 in 7 had a record of
5 years or more. As was the case with the age figures, the number of
new workers employed because of the extra shift makes any compari
son with normal factory distribution impossible. From the following
summary it is clear that the extra shift gave employment to a number
of young women.
Women of all
ages
Length of service
Women under 20 years of age
Number
Percent1
309
67
21. 7
71
18
58
72
45
45
Total.
Less than 6 months__________
6 months and less than 1 year
1 and less than 2 years---------2 and less than 3 years______
3 and less than 5 years______
5 years and more____________
33
7
14
13
46. 5
24. 1
18. 1
' Not computed where base less than 50.
The proportion of married women was greater in the longer service
groups than in the shorter—28.7 percent had been with the firm 5 years
or more as compared with 17 percent with a service of less than 1 year.
For the single women the opposite was true, only 6.8 percent having
been as long as 5 years with the firm and 35.1 percent reporting less
than 1 year’s service. Though throe fifths (60 percent) of the women
with a service record of 5 years and more were married, less than one
fifth of those with less than a year’s service were in the married group.
O
