Perspectives on Labor Studies

Perspectives On Labor Studies Name Institution Course and Code Professor Date Perspectives On Labor Studies Kellogg's Six-Hour Workday In his account of Kellogg in Battle Creek, Michigan, Benjamin Kline Hunnicutt presents his findings in studying the shorter workdays of 6 hours. Implemented in 1930 under the leadership of Lewis J. Brown to address both economic and social concerns, the rules of the six-hour day were straightforward. Beginning on 1 December 1930, the plant instituted four six-hour shifts, effectively reducing the workday from eight hours to six for each worker (Hunnicutt, 1992, p. 479). To maintain purchasing power, Kellogg raised the lowest daily pay for male employees to four dollars, while other workers basic hourly wage increased by 12.5 percent. Implementing the six-hour day benefited at Kellogg's management and workers. For management, it solved Battle Creek’s unemployment situation by creating more job opportunities and expanding the workforce. Additionally, it helped stabilize industry operations and maintain or even increase production levels, as evidenced by Kellogg's announcement of record-breaking sales volume following the introduction of the four-shift system (Hunnicutt, 1992, p. 482). For workers, the shorter workday meant more leisure time, improved living and working conditions, and greater enjoyment and recreation opportunities outside of business hours. Moreover, it signaled a shift towards prioritizing freedom and leisure over strict economic concerns, potentially leading to a happier, more stable workforce. Despite its initial success and perceived benefits, the decline of the six-hour day was driven by a shift in management's perspective, which increasingly viewed work as the center of life and a public resource to be leveraged for corporate interests. As the company faced market challenges in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it sought concessions from the city and unions to retain its main office in Battle Creek (Hunnicutt, 1992, p. 515). This departed from W. K. Kellogg's original progress vision, which focused on creating more jobs through shorter hours. Ultimately, management and the union pressure led the six-hour workers to vote in favor of eight-hour shifts in December 1984, sacrificing leisure time to save jobs at the Kellogg plant. During the transition from the six-hour to the eight-hour system, the focus on work as the center of life overshadowed the leisure amenities that had once characterized the workplace environment. While W. K. Kellogg had built parks and forest preserves for the leisure of workers and the community, the new management's emphasis on work shifted priorities (Hunnicutt, 1992, p. 517). Parks designed for recreation and enjoyment were replaced by linear parks explicitly designed to attract businesses and create more jobs, reflecting the changing priorities of the company and society at large.  As for whether I would prefer to be an eight-hour or six-hour worker, I would choose the six-hour system. While longer hours may seem more productive in the short term, I believe that shorter workdays allow for a better balance between work and personal life, promoting overall well-being and happiness. Additionally, shorter work hours can lead to increased productivity and creativity during the time spent at work and provide more opportunities for leisure activities and time with loved ones. In summary, Kellogg’s six-hour day rise and fall provides great insights into the relationships that exist between labor management, productivity, and worker well-being. Although in the beginning it represented a progressive approach to work management, its eventual decline is a highlight of the broader shifts in societal attitudes toward work and leisure. Emotional Labor Arlie Hochschild's argues that, with the rise of the service sector, companies are commercializing feelings, and this comes at a price. Her airline industry examination is a great example where this happens. Mostly tasked with providing passengers with emotional labor in airline industries are flight attendants. This can be through displaying smiles, friendliness, and attentiveness without considering their true feelings (Hochschild, 2010, p. 93). Before feelings were commercialized, flight attendants had an easy role of just catering to their emotions as well as those for passengers. But with the industry evolving, companies started to increase the demands placed on them as they aimed for more efficiency and profitability. One way in which the airline industry commercialized the feelings of flight attendants was through a process of speed-up, which involved shortening turnaround times between flights, increasing the number of passengers attended to, and reducing layover periods (Hochschild, 2010). These changes resulted in flight attendants facing increased workloads and reduced personal interaction opportunities with passengers. This situatio...