Sylvia Shimmin

What have we forgotten - and why?

British industrial, occupational and organizational psychology has an important yet largely forgotten history. Before and between the two world wars, significant theory and practice was vigorously developed, princes and prime ministers enthusiastically attended psychological functions and early radio broadcasts unselfconsciously emphasized the national importance of psychology for individuals, industry and commerce. Practical help provided by psychologists resulted in increased productivity and effusive public thanks from both employees and employers. As an illustration, we describe the genesis, flourishing and demise of the internationally admired National Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP). We examine both the content and the methodological, political and values basis of its work, and provide examples of its relevance today. We identify several reasons for this apparent memory lapse, including a lack of institutional continuity, academic hegemony and ignorance, U.S. domination of psychology, worship of the new and ambivalence about political influence. An ignorance of our shared history may lead to undesirable consequences, including a debased rediscovery of forgotten ideas disguised as invention or, conversely, a failure to build on the work of the past. A more subtle risk may be a move away from a shared humanistic orientation based on common values and principles.

Pressures on factory women: between the devil and the deep blue sea

Abstract Women engaged on mass-production work in factories, especially those who are married and those who have dependent children and who work full-time, are exposed to negative and opposing pressures. They are caught between the unremitting demands of home and family, associated with their accepting a domestic division of labour which limits their time, energy and inclination to undertake outside employment, and the tedious, paced factory jobs which they accept as the only kind of work available to them in their circumstances. Work outside the home enables them to earn the money on which their households depend, to meet others and to leave domestic chores for a time, but factory work itself introduces other pressures, such as noise, repetitive movements and so on, from which they are unable to escape. The implications of these findings from a study commissioned by the Department of Employment from the Medical Research Council are discussed in relation to social and psychological factors and the limited...