It is 2023 and I am not sure I believe that things have changed as much as we think they have. You hear people talk about the good old days or ask, “What’s this generation coming to?”. We just don’t seem to accept that some things just never change or change very little. I still believe that today and yesterday there were good people and not so good people, that some people were thoughtful about the future legacy they are leaving and some people don’t think about it at all.
This was confirmed (that things don’t change as much as we think they do) when I found Tom’s grandfather’s employee handbook from 1934. Here are some comparisons in content excerpted from it to a sample employee handbook of today. How interesting!!!
Leave of Absence
1934
Employees will not be granted leave of absence for a longer period than six months, except in the cases of sickness of himself or family or when agreed to between the employee and management.
Today
An extended leave of absence can be available as a reasonable accommodation. An employee who desires such an accommodation should communicate this to the Human Resources Manager. The Human Resources Manager will engage in an interactive process with the employee by which the possibility of a personal leave of absence can be fully explored. See FMLA for more information.
Hearing/Appeal
1934
An employee disciplined or who feels unjustly treated, shall upon making written request to the immediate superior officer within ten days from the date of advice or occurrence, be given a fair and impartial hearing within ten days thereafter and a decision will be rendered within twenty days after completion of the hearing. The right to appeal to the Manager of Personnel is conceded.
Today
The Company seeks to deal openly and directly with its employees and believes that communication between employees and management is critical to solving problems.
Employees that may have an issue or problem that needs to be resolved should work with the supervisor, first, to attempt to agree upon a resolution.
If a resolution cannot be agreed upon, the employee should present his or her issue, in writing, to the next level manager. The issue can be raised through the chain of command including:
- Administrator
- Vice President
- President
The decision of the President is final.
A Day’s Work/Hours of Work
1934
For eight hours pay eight hours work shall be performed. Eight consecutive hours, exclusive of the meal period, shall constitute a day. Regular assigned daily working hours shall not be reduced below eight except by mutual agreement between employees and supervising officer. When less than eight hours are worked for convenience of employees or when due to inclement weather interruptions occur to regular established work period preventing eight hours work, only actual time worked or held on duty will be paid.
Today
The standard workweek for full-time employees is typically five days, eight hours per day. Schedules (beginning and ending times, meal periods, etc.) may vary based on the Company’s and customer’s needs. Employees may not deviate from the Company’s hours of work unless the supervisor approves a modification. It is understood that employees may be required to work additional hours to accommodate certain deadlines.
If the employee chooses not to work when the work area, work site, or location is designated as open, and there are severe weather conditions, the employee will be required to use PTO, if available. If PTO is not available, the employee will not be paid.
Supervising Employees/Exempt Employees
1934
Employees whose responsibilities and or supervisory duties require service in excess of the working hours or days assigned for the general force will be compensated on a monthly rate to cover all service rendered.
Today
Exempt Salaried Employees typically work more than 40 hours per week and are exempt from overtime pay requirements under federal and state law and therefore are not entitled to receive payment for overtime regardless of how many hours they work per week.
Wow! Hope you find this as fascinating as I do. People and times have not changed much. For more information about change/not change, see the article “It’s Time to Stop Talking About Generations” by Louis Menand published in the New Yorker last year.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/18/its-time-to-stop-talking-about-generations
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