Status Among Clerical Workers

A study of an industrial situation in which a group of workers complained because 'high status conferred on them by some features of their job was not reflected in other features.' In 1950, 60 M and F clerical workers and supervisors in a division of a company were studied using a 1 month period to get acquainted with the workers and their tasks, and a 2 week period for systematic observation of their interaction, followed by a period of non-directive 1-2 hour interviews with everyone. One group (ledger clerks) complained of the fact that although their job was considered to be of higher status than another (cash posting), the pay was the same and they were often taken off their job to help at the other (pushed around). The author discusses such a status problem in its general terms with its implications for administrative practice. It is suggested that wage differentials should reflect the workers' relative evaluations and workers 'fill in' only on higher status jobs. D. Wolsk.