Health of the War Worker
1942-04 1942 1940s 44 pages Seating It will surprise many workers to learn that Section 44 of the Factory Act reads: There shall be provided and maintained, for the use of all female workers whose work is done standing, suitable facilities for sitting sufficient to enable them to take advantage o...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
London : Labour Research Department
April 1942
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/AF944A40-C2DB-489C-912D-C2ED5A2FA32B http://hdl.handle.net/10796/7EEB7F94-D0CB-497E-BCCA-3874F4D79F33 |
| Summary: | 1942-04
1942
1940s
44 pages
Seating It will surprise many workers to learn that Section 44 of the Factory Act reads: There shall be provided and maintained, for the use of all female workers whose work is done standing, suitable facilities for sitting sufficient to enable them to take advantage of any opportunities for resting which may occur in the course of their employment. Every one will know that in scores of factories this section is just a bad joke and is bound to remain so, but it raises a very important principle, namely, that when physical effort is not continuously demanded, opportunity should be given to relax. It is sometimes taken as a crime to appear resting, although there may be nothing to do. In actual fact, the clever worker, like the clever footballer, who can take a periodic rest, lasts better and performs more efficiently. This, of course, applies just as much to men as women; it is a standard method of combating fatigue also, when long spells of continuous effort are demanded. Output is found to go up when every one is made to have a rest pause, again like the half-time interval in football. Although it is obviously impossible in heaps of processes for men or women to have a chair to sit down upon, wherever it is possible to have chairs they should be there, and where workers are of necessity sitting all their shift, it is vital that the chairs be comfortable and adjustable. Backs of different lengths need back rests in different places. It is surprising the increase in production that can be achieved by a comfortable back, as against one without any support. The correct height of the working bench is also important, as every woman at the wash-tub knows. The average elbow-height of men is 43 inches and of women 40, so that the comfortable height for a bench for an average man standing is 38 inches and for a woman 37 inches.* Drinking Water An adequate supply of wholesome drinking water must be conveniently accessible to all persons in factories and workshops. One of the thoroughly unhealthy practices associated with drinking water is the use of a common mug by numbers of different persons. Far and away the best arrangement is to have the water *Report No. 44 of Industrial Fatigue Research Board, 1927. Report No. 71 of Industrial Health Research Board, 1935. 9
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |