Job Fatigue and the Emancipation of Workers: Past Scenarios and Future Perspectives

In recent years, the industrialized countries have gone through one of the worst economic crises in history. There have been many changes in companies. Corporate reorganization in the first phase, the so-called waste (mudas), has implied the use of strategies such as downsizing and job flexibility that have made labour relations more casual and led to outsourcing. In the meantime, some companies have chosen to be guided by the value of good practices of personnel management. Thomas Stewart, for example, in the book Intellectual Capital, reports the case of Taco, a company in Cranston, Rhode Island, that was founded in 1920 when Elwood White bought the Thermal Appliance Company. Since then Taco has always been on the “market” with the idea to innovate. In 1991 this company became a worldwide model of investment in human capital. In spring 1991, the crisis worsened and three options were possible: to relocate, to believe in the recovery by investing in new machinery, and finally to invest in human capital. Taco has chosen human capital. Taco began a complete reorganization aimed at improved quality, productivity, and flexibility. This led to the creation of the “Taco Learning Center”, which offers to all employees the chance to train, to develop new competences, and thus to get qualifications that are recognized by American colleges.