JOB ANALYSIS
263
examination were assigned. In this respect, a job analysis
giving the physical characteristics of the work is very
important because it will enable the employment service
and medical service to cooperate more closely in assigning
men to the work for which they are physically best
adapted. It will prevent the choosing of men with a
hernia for work requiring heavy lifting. It will reduce the
chances for giving pedestrian work to men or women who
have a tendency to fallen arches. It will prevent a large
number of accidents, and will greatly lessen one of the
most important causes of labor turnover.
From the psychological point of view, nothing does
more to upset a worker’s state of mind and make him
discontented with his job than physical incompatibility.
However, unless the employment interviewer has a clear
and definite knowledge of the physical aspects of jobs, he
can not avoid producing misfits. Moreover, unless there
is a thorough understanding between the interviewer and
the applicant about the nature of the job, trouble is sure
to follow. It may seem foolish to tell an applicant that a
job is hot or dirty; but here honesty is the best policy.
If an applicant is hired for a dirty job without having
been acquainted with that fact beforehand, he may start
work but quit after a few days or a few weeks, and thereby
cause the loss of a considerable amount of time and effort,
as well as make it necessary to go through the whole
process of hiring once more. If an applicant is told
that a job is dirty, he may accept it nevertheless and not
mind it; while, if he refuse the job, not much has been
lost. Naturally, some discretion must be used in this
matter. A job which would be considered dirty by one
man would not necessarily be considered so by another
man. The relativity of sensations and feelings is one of
