Henry Ford and Profit Sharing Plans

Next Henry Ford created a profit-sharing plan that would distribute up to $30 million annually among his employees. People flocked to Henry Ford Motor Company factories seeking work, and Henry Ford was able to select those with the greatest skill and potential. As soon as Henry Ford improved the conditions of his workers, other factory owners had to follow suit. The competition to provide better working conditions improved the standard of living for thousands and thousands of workers all across America.

What caused Henry Ford 's worker reform?

From the beginning, Henry Ford's decision was based not as much on humanitarian beliefs as on practical business concerns, and Henry Ford himself was the first to admit it. Henry Ford was trying to keep his workers productive and motivated, but Henry Ford was notorious for his lack of respect and compassion for them.

Working for Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company factories

Early on, Henry Ford established a system of spying within his organization to assure himself his workers were behaving as they should. Henry Ford even spied on them in their personal lives. Their homes were watched and their habits reported. Henry Ford had strict rules about behavior on and off work that included no gambling, drinking, or smoking, at a time when smoking was still a vastly popular American pastime.

One of Henry Ford 's top men later reported that every fifth man at the plant was an informer, and that employees were followed and watched even in the bathrooms. Henry Ford was just as ruthless with his top managers. Of the four men who worked most closely with him, three were eventually fired when Henry Ford thought they had become too important. One of these men, James Couzens was an organizing genius who had been with Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company from the beginning and was close to being his partner.