MORALE ON RAILROADS TODAY

Morale is very low when compared with the level of morale that existed 20 or 30 years ago. Morale in the industry suffers from two basic causes: Environment and Dissension. Seven major factors affect morale: (1) the feeling of insecurity, (2) the reduction of the pay differential between the skilled and the less-skilled, (3) deteriorating physical plants, (4) the railroad need for 24 hour, seven day operation aggravates the absenteeism problem, (5) the tendency to accept from employees less than their best leads to individuals becoming slipshod, (6) contractual agreements with their built-in featherbedding rob employees of their desire to produce efficiently, (7) supervisors assume that wages alone are sufficient motivation, and fail to use other approaches to motivate people. The report then discusses what factors contribute to an improvement in the workers' morale, and what can and should be done. Discussion of the committee report is presented on pages 27-42.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • The 75th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents was held at Le Chateau Champlain, Montreal, Quebec Canada, June 15-17, 1971.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Association of Railroad Superintendents

  18154 Harwood Avenue
  Homewood, IL  United States  60403
• Publication Date: 1971-6

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 82-89
• Serial:
  • Publication of: American Association of Railroad Superintendents
  • Publisher: American Association of Railroad Superintendents

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Morale; Safety
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00044267
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: American Association of Railroad Superintendents
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 15 1974 12:00AM