Recreation in Varied Work
Benito Mussolini recently told the world that he
works sixteen hours a day.
Shallow minded observers will conclude that, if such a program is feasible for Il Duce, it is practicable for the ordinary
workingman.
The deduction would be fallacious even if the premise stands as correct.
The Premier of Italy has varied and interesting work, which ever stirs anew his creative
instincts and his boundless energies. His daily chores, full of high adventure and
the stimulus of leadership, are not to be compared with the monotonous routine of
the
factory worker.
The great human problem in connection with machine civilization is to minimize the
monotony and | drudgery of toilers who must repeat through the day a single,
simple process. In an earlier period when hand work prevailed, the worker had the
creative thrill of making a product from the start to the finish. The worker in the
modern factory contributes only a single step in the process.
Non-routine workers are not to be compared with those in the factory.
I visited Arthur Schnitzler at Vienna last summer, and discussed his methods with him. When he
tires of a play on which he may be working, that veteran author turns to an essay.
When his attention begins to lag, he lays that aside, and does some work on a novel.
Then he may shift to a short story. He usually produces at least four works of art
at
the same time, finding relaxation in turning from one to another.
The human mind loves variety; it loathes monotony.
Personnel directors in modern business establishments should recognize the wisdom
in
breaking up tedium either with recesses or rest periods, or preferably by shifting
workers at intervals from one task to another.
With immigration restricted, employers are coming to understand the need of
economizing labor, which receives high wages. The real need is not to get
work|ers to put in hours, but to keep them interested while they are at work.
The field, which is still virgin, offers large opportunities for cooperation between
practical business men and psychologists.
After work, the wise individual who recognizes the restfulness of variety will find
fuller ways to use leisure time, which is too frequently frittered away.
The trite expression, »variety is the spice of life« is in accordance with the
findings of psychologists and the experience of leaders in commerce and in art.
Seeing new scenery and new faces on vacations has a tonic effect. It stimulates the
imagination and tones up an individual.
