Wartime demands for industrial production created new challenges in the American homefront workforce. In need of workers as millions of men were drafted to fight overseas, American businesses increasingly turned to new sources of labor, including: workers with disabilities, women, and African Americans. Often new to industrial positions, and sometimes paid employment, recently-hired workers and their supervisors would have adjustments to make. To aid in this transition and to keep production high, the Office of Education (which would later become the Department of Education) created a series of films on the topic called Problems in Supervision. This series, which quickly expanded to 22 films, touched on a plethora of skills and common mistakes of supervising workers. Continue into this exhibit to learn more about the Office of Education, the Problems in Supervision film series, and the experiences of wartime workers.
To view our collection of Problems in Supervision films, click here.
Credits
Curated by Rachel Knight and Josh Koepke