But it can be traced everywhere that in the first
working hours in which fatigue does not play any considerable role,
the number of accidents is small, and that this number sinks again
after the long pauses. It is true that the number also becomes
somewhat smaller at the end of the forenoon and of the afternoon
period, but this seems to have its cause in the fact that with growing
fatigue and with the feeling that the end of the working period is
near, the rhythm of the activity becomes much slower, and with such
slower movements the danger of accidents is greatly reduced. In a
similar way the factories have had to give the fullest attention to
the fatigue problem in its relation to the distribution of pauses, and
above all in its relation to the advisable speed of the machines, the
limits of which are set by the fatigue of the workingmen, and still
more of the working-women.
The legislatures, the labor unions, and the manufacturers have then
had this problem of fatigue constantly before their eyes.[42] On the
other hand, the psychologists and physiologists have continuously
studied the fatigue and restoration of the muscle system and of the
central nervous system, and have analyzed the facts with the subtlest
methods. Yet, in spite of this, it cannot be denied that a real mutual
enrichment has so far hardly been in question. On the contrary, the
whole situation has again demonstrated the old experience.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187