CHAPTER IX_Increasing Human Efficiency in Business A Contribution to the Psychology of Business

RELAXATION

AS A MEANS OF INCREASING HUMAN EFFICIENCY

_Be not therefore anxious for the Morrow_

A STUDY of the lives of great men is

both interesting and profitable. In

such a study we are amazed at the

records of the deeds of the men whom the

world calls great. The results of the labors

of Hercules seem to be approximated according

to many of these truthful accounts.

In studying the lives of contemporary business

men two facts stand out prominently.

The first is that their labors have brought about

results that to most of us would have seemed

impossible. Such men appear as giants, in

comparison with whom ordinary men sink to

the size of pygmies.

The second fact which a study of successful

business men (or any class of successful men)

reveals is that they never seem rushed for

time.

_Men noted for efficiency almost never appear to

be hurried. They have plenty of time to accomplish

their tasks, and therefore can afford to take

their work leisurely_.

Such men have time to devote to objects in

no way connected with their business. It cannot

be regarded as accidental that this characteristic

of mind is found so commonly among

successful men during the years of their most

fruitful labor.

According to the American Ideal, the man

who is sure to succeed is one who is continuously

``keyed up to concert pitch,'' who is ever

alert and is always giving attention to his business

or profession. As far as the captains of

industry are concerned, such is not the case.

They devote relatively few hours a day to their

strenuous toil, but they keep a cool head and a

steady hand. They are always composed,

never confused, but ever ready to attack a new

problem with their maximum ability. They

follow the injunction of Christ expressed in

His Sermon on the Mount: ``Be not therefore

anxious for the morrow.''

Of all the nations of the world, Americans

are supposed to be the hardest working. We

have attributed our industrial success to the

fact that there is a bustle and snap to our work

which are not equaled in any other country.

But recent students of the industrial world are

now telling us that even in the case of day

and piece labor this characteristic is frequently

a weakness rather than an advantage. They

say that the American product ``suffers from

hurry, want of finish, and want of solidity.''--

``Industrial Efficiency,'' Arthur Shadwell,

Vol. 1, p. 26.

_In the great middle class of American society,

there is a lack of repose and an absence of relaxation

which astonishes foreign observers_.

They tell us that we are wild-eyed and too

intense. Dr. Clauston of Scotland is quoted

as saying:--

``You Americans wear too much expression

in your faces. You are living like an army

with all its reserves engaged in action. The

duller countenance of the British population

betokens a better scheme of life. They suggest

stores of reserved nervous force to fall

back upon, if any occasion should arise that

requires it. The inexcitability, this presence

at all times of power not used, I regard as the

great safeguard of our British people. The

other thing in you gives me a sense of insecurity,

and you ought somehow to tone yourselves

down. You do really carry too much expression,

you take too intensely the trivial moments

of life.''

The late Professor William James of Harvard

makes the following pertinent remark

concerning the overtension of Americans:--

``Your intense, convulsive worker breaks

down and has bad moods so often that you

never know where he may be when you most

need his help,--he may be having one of his

`bad days.' We say that so many of our

fellow-countrymen collapse, and have to be

sent abroad to rest their nerves, because they

work so hard. I suspect that this is an im-

mense mistake. I suspect that neither the nature

nor the amount of our work is accountable

for the frequency and severity of our breakdowns,

but that their cause lies rather in those

absurd feelings of hurry and having no time,

in that breathlessness and tension, that anxiety

of feature and that solicitude of results,

that lack of inner harmony and ease, in short,

by which with us the work is apt to be accompanied,

and from which a European who should

do the same work would nine times out of ten

be free. . . . It is your relaxed and easy

worker, who is in no hurry, and quite thoughtless

most of the while of consequences, who

is your efficient worker; and tension and anxiety,

and present and future, all mixed up together

in one mind at once, are the surest

drags upon steady progress and hindrances to

our success.''--``Talks to Teachers,'' pp. 214-

218.

Mr. Joseph Lyons, who is recognized as one

of the particularly active and efficient men of

England, has taken great interest in the way

things are done in America. And after ob-

serving us at work here he expressed himself

as dissatisfied with the tension under which we

work. His words areas follows:--

``I do not believe in what Americans call

hustling. The American hustler in my opinion

does not represent the highest type of

human efficiency. He wastes a lot of nervous

power and energy instead of accomplishing

the greatest possible amount of work for the

force expended. Judging the American hustler

from my observation of him in his own country,

I should say that the American hustler

shows a lack of adaptation of means to ends

because he puts more mental, physical, and

nervous energy into his work at all times than

it demands. Regarded as a machine he is not

an economical one. He breaks down too often

and has to be laid off for repairs too often.

He tries to do everything too fast.''

When Mr. Lyons was asked to explain how

he had been able to accomplish so much without

hustling, he replied: ``By organizing myself

to run smoothly as well as my business;

by schooling myself to keep cool, and to do

what I have to do without expending more

nervous energy on the task than is necessary;

by avoiding all needless friction. In consequence,

when I finish my day's work, I feel

nearly as fresh as when I started.''-- Quoted

from _New York Herald_, Aug. 30, 1910.

RELAXATION A PHYSIOLOGICAL NECESSITY

_The necessity for relaxation is adherent in the

human organism. Even those life processes

which seem to be constant in their activity require

frequent periods of complete rest_.

The heart beats regularly and at short intervals,

but after each beat its muscles come

into a state of complete relaxation and enjoy

a refreshing rest, even though it be but for

a moment. Likewise the lungs seem to be

unceasing in their activity, but a careful study

of their action discloses the fact that every

contraction is followed by a perfect relaxation,

and that the rest secured between successive

respirations is adequate for recuperations.

In all bodily processes the same alternation is

discovered. No bodily activity is at all con-

tinuous. Mental processes, too, can be continued

for but a very short time. By attempting

to eliminate these periods of rest for bodily

and mental acts, we merely exhaust without a

corresponding increase in efficiency. The laws

of nature are firm and countenance no infringement.

The periods between activity and rest,

as well as the durations of the two processes,

may be changed. Thus, up to a certain limit,

the periods devoted to activity may follow

more rapidly and endure longer. There is,

however, a danger point which may not be

passed with impunity. The danger signal

may manifest itself in several ways: The over-

trained athlete becomes ``stale''; the over-

worked brain worker becomes nervous; the

overworked laborer becomes indifferent and

generally inefficient.

In all these and in similar instances, the

amount of energy expended is out of proportion

to the results of the labor. The athletic

trainer has learned to guard against overtraining

and is severely condemned for making

such a mistake. The brain worker often

regards overwork as a commendable thing.

However, sentiment is changing. The employer

of labor is finding that rest and relaxation

are essential to the greatest efficiency.

Employees accomplish as much in a week of

six days as they do in one of seven. The reduction

in the hours of daily toil has not decreased

the total efficiency.

The periods devoted to rest are not as

profitable as they should be unless they are

actually devoted to recuperation. It may be

that some of the time supposed to be devoted

to rest should be devoted to thoughts of toil.

Again during the hours of work there should

be a freedom from jerkiness, breathlessness,

nervousness, and anxiety. It is not necessarily

true that the greatest and most constant display

of energy accompanies the greatest presence

of energy. The tugboat in the river is

constantly blowing off steam and making a

tremendous display of energy, while the ocean

liner proceeds on its way without noise and

without commotion. The still current runs

deep, and the man who is actually accomplishing

the most is frequently--perhaps always the

man who is making the least display of his

strength. He can afford to be calm and collected,

for he is equal to his task. The man

who frets and fumes, who is nervous and excited,

who is strung up to such a pitch that

energy is being dissipated in all directions--

such a man proclaims his weakness from the

housetop.

_Many business men know they are going at a

pace that kills, and at the same time they feel

that they are accomplishing too little. For such,

the pertinent question is, How may I reduce the

expenditure of energy without reducing the

efficiency of my labor_?

The ability to relax at will and to remain in

an efficient condition, but free from nervousness,

is a thing which may be acquired more

or less completely by all persons. It is accomplished

by a voluntary control of the muscles

of the arms, legs, and face, by breathing

slowly and deeply, and by placing the body in a

condition of general relaxation.

This antecedent condition of relaxation

brings all the forces of the mind and body more

completely under control and makes it possible

to marshal them more effectively. It also

gives one a feeling of control and assurance,

which minimizes the possibility of confusion

and embarrassment in the presence of an important

task. The possibility of developing

the power of relaxation by means of special

training is being taken advantage of in teaching

acts of skill, in all forms of mental

therapeutics, and in numerous other instances

where overtension hinders the acquisition or

accomplishment of a useful act. By assuming

the attitude of assurance and composure, the

actual condition is produced in a manner most

astonishing to those who have never attempted

it. No man can do his best when he is hurried

and fearful, when he is expending energy in a

manner as useless as a tug blowing off steam.

That relief is within his own power seems to

him impossible. He is not aware of his power

of will to change from his state of anxiety to

one of composure.

That the gospel of relaxation is more important

to the chief executive than to the day

laborer is quite apparent. Even in the case of

the day laborer the crack of the lash and the

curse of the driver may have been capable of

securing a display of activity among the laborers,

but such means are not comparable in

efficiency to the more modern methods. Laborers

are now given more hours of rest, are

not kept fearful and anxious, but are given

short hours of labor and long hours of rest.

They are judged by the actual results of their

labor rather than by their apparent activity.

_When accomplishing intellectual work of any

sort, it is found that worry exhausts more than

labor_.

Anxiety as to the results is detrimental to

efficiency. The intellectual worker should

periodically make it a point to sit in his chair

with the muscles of his legs relaxed, to breathe

deeply, and to assume an attitude of composure.

Such an attitude must not, of course,

detract from attention to the work at hand,

but should rather increase it. Upon leaving

his office, the brain worker should cultivate

the habit of forgetting all about his business,

except in so far as he believes that some particular

point needs special attention out of

office hours. The habit of brooding over

business is detrimental to efficiency and is

also suicidal to the individual.

It is, of course, apparent to all that relaxation

may mean permanent indifference, and

such a condition is infinitely worse than too

great a tension. An employer who is never

keyed up to his work, and an employee who

goes about his work in an indifferent manner,

are not regarded in the present discussion.

A complete relaxation of the body often

gives freedom to the intellect. The inventor

is often able, when lying in bed, to devise his

apparatus with a perfection impossible when

he attempts to study it out in the shop. The

forgotten name will not come till we cease

straining for it. Very many of the world's

famous poems have been conceived while

the poet was lying in an easy and relaxed condition.

This fact is so well recognized by some

authors that they voluntarily go to bed in the

daytime and get perfectly relaxed in order

that their minds may do the most perfect

work. Much constructive thinking is done

in the quiet of the sanctuary, when the monotony

of the liturgy or the voice of the speaker

has soothed the quiet nerves, and secured a

composed condition of mind. The preacher

would be surprised if he knew how many costumes

had been planned, how many business

ventures had been outlined, all because of the

soothing influence of his words.

_This relaxation of the body not only gives

freedom to the intellect, but it is the necessary

preliminary condition for the greatest physical

exertion and for the most perfect execution of

any series of skillful acts_.

Mr. H. L. Doherty not only held the world's

championship in tennis, but he was the despair

of his opponents, because of the apparent lack

of exertion which he put forth to meet their

volleys. So far as an observer could judge,

Mr. Doherty kept only those muscles tense

that were used in the game. The muscles

especially necessary for tennis were also, so

far as possible, kept lax except at the instant

for making the stroke. Partly because of this

relaxation, his muscles were free from exhaustion

and under such perfect control that at the

critical moment he was able to exert a strength

that was tremendous and a skill that was

amazing.

In a very striking paragraph Professor James

has shown the reason why poise and efficiency

of mind are incompatible with tenseness of

muscles:--

``By the sensations that so incessantly pour

in from the overtense excited body the overtense

and excited habit of mind is kept up; and

the sultry, threatening, exhausting, thunderous

inner atmosphere never quite clears away. If

you never give yourself up wholly to the chair

you sit in, but always keep your leg and body

muscles half contracted for a rise; if you

breathe eighteen or nineteen instead of sixteen

times a minute, and never quite breathe out at

that,--what mental mood can you be in but

one of inner panting and expectancy, and how

can the future and its worries possibly forsake

your mind? On the other hand, how can they

gain admission to your mind if your brow be

unruffled, your respiration calm and complete,

and your muscles all relaxed?''--``Talks to

Teachers,'' p. 211.

In ancient Greece, one of the chief functions

of the school was to prepare citizens to profit

by the hours of freedom from toil. Herbert

Spencer, in his great work on Education, gives

a prominent place to training for leisure hours.

Such training is attracting the attention of

the American educator to-day as never before.

A few decades ago the majority of the American

population lived on farms, spent long hours of

the day in toil, and scarcely thought of recreation.

We have now become an urban population,

the hours of labor have been greatly reduced

during the days of the week, and Sunday

is a day in which the laborer is found in

neither the factory nor the church.

The employer of laborers fears the effect of

long hours of freedom from toil. He has

prophesied that such hours would be spent

in dissipations. He feared that as a result

his laborers would enter their shops with unsteady

hands and sleepy brains. That such

results are all too often due to freedom from

toil, no one would deny. That they are not

necessary will also be admitted. One of the

problems of the American people as a whole,

and of employers of labor in particular, is to

train up the rising generations so that they

may make the best use of the increasing hours

of freedom from labor.

To this end the schools are doing much.

Settlement workers are contributing their

part. Welfare work is becoming popular in

certain places. Local clubs are being organized

to develop interest in local improvement,

literature, politics, ethics, religion, music,

athletics. These agencies are so beneficial

in results that they are being generously

encouraged by business men.

_Upon entering business every young man

should select some form of endeavor or activity

apart from business to which he shall devote a

part of his attention. This interest should be so_

_absorbing that when he is thus engaged, business

is banished from mind_.

This interest may be a home and a family;

it may be some form of athletics; it may be

club life; it may be art, literature, philanthropy,

or religion. It must be something

which appeals to the individual and is adapted

to his capabilities. Some men find it advisable

to have more than a single interest for the

hours of recreation. Some form of athletics

or of agriculture is often combined with an

interest in art, literature, religion, or other

intellectual form of recreation. Thus Gladstone

is depicted as a woodchopper and as an

author of Greek works. Carnegie is described

as an enthusiast in golf and in philanthropy.

Rockefeller is believed to be interested in golf

and philanthropy, but his philanthropy takes

the form of education through endowed schools.

Carnegie's philanthropy is in building libraries.

If the lives of the great business men

are studied it will be found that there is a

great diversity in the type of recreation chosen;

but philanthropy, religion, and athletics are

very prominent--perhaps the most popular

of the outside interests.

These interests cannot be suddenly acquired.

Many a man who has reached the years of

maturity has found to his sorrow that he is

without interests in the world except his specialty

or business. With each succeeding year

he finds new interests more difficult to acquire.

Hence young men should in their youth

choose wisely some interests to which they

may devote themselves with perfect abandon

at more or less regular intervals throughout

life.

The more noble and the more worthy the

interest, the better will be the results when

considered from any point of view. Indeed,

the interests which we call the highest are

properly so designated, because in the history

of mankind they have proved themselves to be

the most beneficial to all.

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