ABS ENT EE ISM AND T U R N O V E R

By C H A R L E S P. T A V T

H E B A S IC problem s o f the war lie in tools and materials,

T m anpow er and leadership. W e are blessed w ith m any natural

resources, b u t even though we have various substitutes lor the
materials w hich we no longer have in abundance, w e cannot waste
any o f them. For m anpow er and leadership there can be n o substi
tutes. Every resource and capacity o f every m an and w om an is essen
tial to w in this struggle fo r the survival o f all we b elieve in as the
foundation of livin g for hum an beings.
W e collect scrap and w c ration m aterials and tools. W e produce
bom bers and fighters and gasoline and escort ships and rubber. T o
save m aterials and tim e and do the jo b better, w e in ven t new tools,
and test them w ith extraordinary precision. W e take every possible
measure to keep the m achines going. Parts are carefu lly salvaged
and kep t as reserve units.
W e have used the same process o f conservation and supply in
connection w ith our m ilitary m anpower. O u r fighters get good food,
carefully planned. T h e y get clo th in g adapted to the conditions they
face. T h e ir bodies are toughened. T h e ir health and efficiency are
watched b y o ur most skillfu l doctors; and their m orale is kept at
the highest p oin t by thorough indoctrination, by w ell-planned recre
ation, and by leadership, personal guidance, and service. W e have
the best-trained and cared-for A rm y and N avy in o ur history.
B u t the A rm y and N a vy cannot exist for a day w ith o u t our
civilian econom y. C iv ilian s produce and transport the food and
clo th in g and provide m uch o f the shelter. C ivilian s produce and
transport the guns, planes, ships, am m unition, and supplies. T h e
civilian s w ho produce and transport the im plem ents of war must
themselves have food and clo th in g and shelter, and that makes the
civilian s w ho serve them necessary.
 ABSENTEEISM A N D T U R N O V E R 27

M en in uniform and civilians have fam ilies. U nless th eir fam ilies
are decently cared for, die best arm y and the best civilian s w ill
soften u p . T h a t happened in G erm an y in 1918, and in France in
1940. Services to fam ilies are essential.
If m orale, and recreation , and in te llige n t education al processes,
and personal guidan ce and service are necessary fo r m en in uniform
even at the fron t, they are equ ally necessary for civilians. M en in
uniform and civilian s a lik e are peop le, and it is o f the essence o f
o ur w ar effort that w e b elieve in people and their im portance. T h e y
are m ore im p ortan t than the m achines they ru n. Y o u cann ot do
w ith ou t the m achines, it is true, b u t the m achines are worthless
w ith ou t men and w om en behind them.
W e have solved the p ro b lem o f how to deal w ith machines. W e
may n ot have all th e answers, b u t w e know how to get diem . D eal
in g w ith people is different. W e cannot afford to let barriers grow
betw een any groups o f o u r peop le. Soldiers at the fron t com plain
about soldiers at hom e. S'oldiers at hom e com plain abou t men on
the farms. M en on the farm s com plain about m en in the factories.
Voters com plain ab ou t Congressm en. T h e y all com plain abou t draft
dodgers in G overn m en t jobs.
C ertain ly w e have a righ t to be p roud o f o u r heroes and o f their
citations and th eir sufferings. C e rta in ly there are draft dodgers and
arm chair soldiers, ju st as there are occasional cowards at the front.
B ut they are m igh ty scarce. T h e vast m ajority are d o in g obscure,
hard, unpleasant, day-to-day tasks, and d o in g them w ell. E veryone is
doin g a b etter jo b than he ever did before. Everyone m ust do a still
better one. W e cann ot have unnecessary turnover o r absenteeism .
It w ill take the last effective oun ce o f o ur energies to w in this w ar.
W h at are they like, these peop le in the necessary civ ilia n econom y,
and exactly w hat is h a p p en in g to them? In F ebruary there were
50,900,000 people w o rk in g and, say, 8,000,000 in the arm ed forces.
T h a t total o f 58,900,000 com pares w ith the total o f 45,000,000 em
ployed at the tim e o f the census in 1940. In o th er words, 14,000,000
people w ho were n ot regu lar w orkers three years ago are now e id ier
in the A rm y or in industry. F ive m illio n new w orkers w ill go in to
industry in 1943. N o w on der m any have n ot yet a cquired good w ork
habits.
T h e re is a m uch higher level o f education am on g w orkers today
than there was twenty-five years ago, and they need it in o rder to
28 ABSENTEEISM A N D T U R N O V E R

perform the various kinds o f necessary skilled and sem iskilled oper
ations. T h a t should mean a m ore efficient selection by em ploym ent
departm ents and a more detailed study o f the in dividual in order to
adapt him to the job. N ow that o u r production m ust increase, and
w e have less m anpower, that type o f jo b analysis and personnel
study becom es absolutely essential, b u t it is n ot always available.
W ith increased hours and w ith new em ployees w ho have not
acquired stability there is always an increase in absences. W h at are
the facts?
T h e only way to know the facts is to analyze the causes of all
absences. Some com panies keep careful records; m any keep none;
and few com panies operate according to any standard system. In
M arch the W ar M anpow er Com m ission set up a standard system of
questions w hich w ould, am ong other points, seek to know if the
absence was due to illness o f the w orker or his fam ily, to lack of care
for children, to transportation, to housin g o r the weather, to fatigue,
o r to personal business. Absence on authorized vacations should also
be included, for its effects are the same and its purpose is related
to the other causes or their prevention. T h e p oin t is that in dealing
w ith people w ho are away from w ork there is no virtue, and m uch
confusion, in describing the absence by the term absenteeism ,
when it is intended to convey opprobrium . W h a t we are concerned
w ith is a diflicult problem , as com plicated as hum an nature, and we
cannot approach it successfully w ith annoyance or anger, to say
n oth in g of prejudice.
F ortunately, the w ord absenteeism is losing its popularity.
Investigations reveal that in a surprising n um ber o f cases causes
beyond the control o f the w orker were responsible for absence from
the jo b . In seeking m ethods o f brin gin g abou t u tilization o f our full
resources o f hum an energy, we recognize that the responsibility is
shared by the w orker, by the em ployer, and by the entire com m u
nity. P lan t managements, on the w hole, are conscious o f the rate o f
absence in their organizations, and they are begin n in g to get the
facts and are takin g in telligen t steps to get at the root o f the p ro b
lem.
Illness has always been one o f the m ajor causes o f absenteeism.
Before the w ar probably 80 to 95 percent o f absenteeism was due to
this one cause. A t the C in cin n ati M illin g M achine Com pany, for
instance, one o f the largest in the w orld, the rate in 1939 was 2.6
 A BSENTEEISM A N D T U R N O V E R 29

percent or 6.6 days per em ployee per year. Som ething like five or
more days o f that absence average was caused by sickness. O f the
sickness rates over the coun try about 15 percent w ere form erly due
to accidental in ju ry in the plant, or to occupational diseases o f vari
ous kinds. T h e balance was caused by illness o r accident o rigin atin g
outside the plant. A ccid en t rates have gone u p some, b u t generally
speaking, those figures are probably n ot far off today.
A re any o f those absences d u e to m alingering? P robably there were
always a few m alingerers, and no do u b t there are more today. B ut
the existence o f such a fact docs n ot mean that the rem edy may be
easily found.
Absence rates have gone up, b u t illness is probably the cause o f
not over h a lf the total rate today, on the average. A t the C in cin n ati
M illin g M achine Com pany, the absence rate w ent from 2.6 in 1939
to 3.8 in 1941, and to 5.4 in 1942. T h e 17 days per man in the 1942
figure in cluded only 5.5 days or about one-third for sickness.
Some w ider averages have been taken. A study o f shipyards from
A p ril, 1942, to January, 1943, showed an absence rate o f 7.5 percent,
alth ou gh variations w ere w ide. A study of copper m ines in M ontana
showed a rate o f 8.5 percent; air fram e and propeller plants showed
an average o f 6.4 percent. V arious m an u facturin g plants, mostly in
the East, showed rates o f from 4 to 6 percent, w hich perhaps may be
taken as the average, alth ou gh it is abou t double the prew ar rates
in the same plants.
A n um ber o f elem ents are apparent on m ore detailed analysis.
W om en are o u t for longer periods o f time than m en. Still, a curious
fact developed at one plant: in general, w h ile the afternoon and
n ight shifts showed a higher rate o f absence than the m orn in g shift,
wom en on the aftern oon shift w ere off less than men on the same
shift, and less than w om en on the m orn in g shift. W om en are absent
for m ore extended illnesses (over eight days) than men; the rates in
1940 were 153 per thousand com pared w ith 96 per thousand for
men.
Rates vary am ong departm ents w ith in the sam e plant. Rates vary
by days o f the w eek in relation to pay day. In C levelan d 151 plants
showed an absentee rate o f 6.6 percent on M onday m orning. Pay
day on Friday always brin gs the lowest rate, b u t in a plan t w ith an
average o f 3.5 percent absent, the rate fo r pay day n ever got below
2.5 percent.
30 ABSENTEEISM A N D T U R N O V E R

T h e best record anyw here is around one percent. T h e im portant

fact is that few plants have reached that m inim um , b u t m any plants
have shown that in telligen t efforts can produce sizable reductions.
T h o se efforts are aim ed at conditions in the p lant, as w ell as at con
ditions outside the p lant, and they take into consideration the psy
chology and m orale o f the workers. T h e y have to be a com bination
o f vigorous discipline, o f correction o f bad conditions, and o f an
in te llige n t educational program to connect the w ar and the job.
T h e efforts in the plan t have to begin w ith good discipline. By
that I do n ot mean p un itive measures, alth ou gh they are requ ired to
some degree, but the enforcem ent of w ork habits in telligen tly ex
plained, directed toward safe procedures, tow ard jo b analysis and
m axim um results for force app lied, and tow ard sim ple controls. A
man should not be allow ed to q u it easily and to get another jo b
w ith o u t h avin g to explain his change o f em ploym ent. T h e freezing
orders o f area w ar m anpower com m ittees have no sanctions; the
blacklist is n ot actu ally enforced. B u t the w orker has to exp lain ,
and that keeps him from m oving ab ou t so m uch.
Some com panies require a person absent because o f illness to
report fo r a check-up by the doctor, o r a nurse is sent to the house.
T h r o u g h this precaution serious illness unsuspected by the w orker,
m ay be discovered. A n o th er system requires that an absentee m u&
get his tim ecard from the forem an w hen he comes back. Such a
process discourages unjustified absence.
A ll b ig plants provide safety program s and good m edical care.
H ow ever, a surprising n um ber could profit from the type o f survey
carried on by the P u b lic H ealth Service o r b y the State Industrial
H ygien e D ivision , o r by the L abor D epartm ent o r state factory sec
tions, o r b y the A n n y , N avy, or M aritim e Com m ission safety oper
ations. T h e small plants, w hich em ploy by far th e larger num ber
o f em ployees, usually are badly in need o f service. T h a t entails
cooperative effort and com m unity organization, and there is not
n early enough o f it. T h e provision o f such service is a field in w hich
coun cils o f social agencies have done far too little , alth ou gh the
absence o f the service produces far too m any fam ily crises w ith
w hich the agencies have to deal.
Increasingly, in dustrial plants are givin g attention to the im p o r
tance o f p ro p er n u tritio n , b u t there is m uch to be accom plished,
both in the p lan t and in educatin g the housew ife as to w hat belongs
 A B SE N TE EIS M A N D T U R N O V E R 31
in a lunch box. Greasy spoon restaurants flourish, either because
local health departments are understaffed, or because they are non
existent in the areas w here some of our biggest plants have been
established.
H ealth education and good leisuretim e opportunities for essen
tial relaxation are recognized as necessities in the minds, but rejected
by the emotions, of m any people. Look at the money they make
they can take care o f themselves is what some tough, win-the-war
administrators say. Yes, b u t if the opportunities are not there or if
the town is swamped by a population ten times its previous size,
what good does money in the pocket do anyone? G in mills and
gam bling joints always find locations, w hile legitim ate commercial
entertainm ent cannot squeeze in, and voluntary organizations face
the prejudice against the war workers with lots o f money w ho have
upset everything.
Better management practices, in cludin g m ore efficient scheduling
of materials and production can help greatly. W orkers must be
fitted to the jobs, and their hours must be adapted to their strength
and capacities. T h ese are people we are dealing with, men and
wom en and youngsters, too, and they need intelligent treatment.
It is becom ing m ore and more im portant that industrial w'orkers
be given the assurance that doctors and hospitals are available.
W e could supply the armed services with doctors and still have an
average of one doctor per 1,500 civilians if the doctors were evenly
distributed, but they are not. In many places, the average is one
doctor to a population of 5,000, and in a few com m unities there are
no doctors at all. H ow ever, the Procurem ent and Assignm ent Service
of the W ar M anpow er Commission is im proving such situations by
transferring doctors, and in some cases, as a last resort, the Public
H ealth Service has sent in its own men in uniform . W e are way
behind in o u r knowledge of health education. People do not know
how to keep physically fit, and when they becom e ill, hospital beds
are scarce, and doctors and nurses are even more so.
A ll the duties that a wife assumes at home may become hopelessly
neglected when she has to go to work. Shopping, the use o f ration
points, household chores, personal business, and care o f children
are difficult to manage, and handling them takes not only personal
planning, but a lot of com m unity planning.
H ousing and transportation difficulties have becom e gradually
32 ABSENTEEISM A N D T U R N O V E R

m ore fam iliar to d ie p u b lic in recent m onths, b u t I believe that

in most places we are solving that problem . T h e n there is the m atter
o f education. Schools may seem far rem oved from the w ar effort,
b u t p eople w ill not stay in w ar plants if their children cannot be
in school.
T h e re are undoubtedly unjustified absences. C losin g the bars on
Sunday in one com m unity cu t down absences on M onday by 61
percent. M any workers, w ith greatly increased incom e, are paying
th eir debts; others, earning m ore than they can spend, lay off b e
cause they have no need of m ore m oney. Still o th er w orkers lay ofl
becausc they feel like it. Such absenteeism m ust cease, and it is
ceasing rap idly as managem ent and com m unity go to w ork in tel
ligen tly on the problem .
T h e first step is to impress the w orker w ith the im portance of
w ar production, and to stress how close to the front his jo b really
is located. T h e personal attention o f plan t executives to the absence
problem , and a clear statem ent to the w orker that every h o u r o f his
tim e is valuable, is the n ext step. T h e provisions w ith in the plant,
by m anagem ent, for health, safety, and tim e saving and the united
attack on the problem s o f decent liv in g for every w orkers fam ily
in the com m unity must be identified as a w ar p roduction drive.
Some plants emphasize penalties, b u t those m ethods, such as the
H itle r pay table, can go m uch too far. Some plants provide prizes,
and that system also can go too far. Incentive payments are successful
in some plants, b u t they should be carefully established through
w holehearted labor-m anagem ent agreem ent. W e do not have to buy
patriotism .
W h en w e come to the essentials o f the problem o f absenteeism,
w e find that it is lik e any problem o f m orale in w ar. O n ly a small
p roportion o f o u r p opulation o f 135,000,000 can ever get to the
front, b u t nearly everyone o f the 135,000,000 can perform an im p or
tant service o f some kin d in the drive for victory. G et that feelin g
to every A m erican in every w ar plan t and we can let o ur enem ies do
the w orrying.