this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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I think we are generally in agreement that standing in front of a blast furnace all day would suck pretty badly. But I am not sure such work must always be miserable. To be fair I have never worked with a blast furnace, but I don't see why someone's job should be to do the same thing every day for years on end. Management should switch up worker roles frequently, perhaps multiple times a day if the task is particularly odious. And if there are ergonomic or environmental reasons it isn't tolerable or safe, those reasons should be addressed, such as providing better PPE or custom built tools.
Adding extra incentives is part of making factory work sustainable in the long run, but it's going to take more than an extra $(insert number)/hour to make workers safe and happy. And I really don't think we should give up on trying to make factory workers safe and happy.
you want to be productive and efficient and that means promoting specialization/division of labor as much as possible
Sure, I can agree that division of labor is crucial. But I work in a factory where what I suggest is somewhat of a reality. Cross training is a purposeful practice because it creates a more flexible/robust workforce. Jobs that are the worst to work are typically shared amongst a large number of people so that nobody has to do it all day, which promotes worker wellness and thereby efficiency. Ergonomic and safety concerns are addressed so that workers stay healthy and can work more efficiently.
The place I work is a B corp.
Your implied stance that people should only do one thing ever doesn't make sense to me. For the more specialized roles at my facility that are potentially odious, they generally have a much easier workload, and they aren't doing only that one task anywhere close to all day most days.
So let's not say that people should give up on making factories places where workers can be happy. You can have efficient workers who know how to do more than one thing.