To be part of the Ford company back in the 1920’s meant meeting many requirements because Ford had his own “Social Department,” which checked up on workers. Ford did not approve of poor life choices such as alcoholism, gambling addiction and things of that sort therefore he kept his employees in line. In reward of living what Ford considered a well-conducted life employees reaped many benefits.
On September 25th 1926, Henry Ford announced the 8-hour, 5-day work week. This was a shock for many because other factories had their workers work 6 days a week for extensive hours a day. Ford was very considerate of his workers and believed that they needed time for their family. He realized that maybe he should not be so involved in their personal life so he dropped the “Social Department” aspect of his company.
His wages were also high for the times, and he saw his high pay rate as an investment. Ford also instilled profit-sharing where employees would be able to purchase an automobile from Ford through their hard work in the company business.