Coffee Break (1958)

[Music] [Music] a present for the boss to be used twice daily as a momento of how time flies a funny present well it's all according to what you mean by funny it's no laughing matter in fact it has to do with a very serious problem the grains of sand in this hourglass have been carefully measured 10 minutes the length of a coffee break the problem well it seems like some people just don't know how to tell time and according to the boss it's costing the company thousands of dollars every year now now don't get me wrong uh I like coffee in fact I'd be out on a break right now if it wasn't because well I I'm on a spot it's up to me to figure out a way for the people to realize that a coffee break means 10 minutes or 15 at the most seems like a small thing to get upset about but it's pretty big when it comes to Dollars and cents you'd be surprised like I was in the boss's office the extent of the problem is pointed up by the fact that today more than seven out of 10 workers are taking the coffee brakes as compared with only half this number 10 years ago now listen to this the hot cups of coffee enjoyed by about 27 million American is costing industry more than a billion dollar annually now think of that over a billion dollar yeah that's those National figures for you thousands of Industries millions of people well let's bring it down to our own level what would you guess a coffee break is costing us you're really serious about this aren't you we're not a big operation Joe 400 people on the payroll even though I bet my bottom Buck the coffee break is costing us at least $30,000 a year what that's right $30,000 all that has to happen and it does happen is for half of our people to take an extra 10 minutes now figure it up a daily loss of $130 multiplied by 242 working days in the year go on figure it out $330,000 okay but what can we do about it a coffee break is almost an American institution you can't just call them off you'd start a revolution I'm not talking about the break itself that's another 10 minutes another 30,000 I'm talking about the abuse of the break the 30 grand I don't think we should have to pay well now there's more to this than meets the eye you can say that again a lot more for the past two weeks I've studied the coffee break habits of our people now that 10 minute starts when they get their hands on the cup of coffee what happens before and after is a matter of small concern to them that [Music] is hey M it's about that time man you are so right shop early and avoid the crowd huh got a match right ex must have left mine at the bowling alley last night yeah here we [Music] [Music] are it's time for coffee [Music] and that's the way it starts somebody leaves early first thing you know they're all gone well almost everybody at least the coffee break starts 5 10 minutes ahead of time well maybe they do avoid the race maybe it's better if they don't all go at once sure except for the fact that on the way hey Frankie boy time to live it up in a hurry what's up we got to get this thing out be through in a minute take your time [Music] hey Frank yeah what's this something new this is my pride and joy well it's a fun what what is it [Music] though time has a way of getting away from us Joe those minutes that mean nothing to the employee cost this organization a lot of D well Al you're the boss we'll do whatever you say however I do think that there's a danger of losing sight of the workers's Viewpoint okay I go along with that that's one of the reasons why you're here as Personnel manager I expect you to represent the people speak up well Al the average worker thinks of himself as being chained to a desk with mountains of work around him that never gets [Music] done that clock on the wall with the magic hours of 10 and three is a key to momentary freedom and he needs that freedom oh Joe that's ridiculous you're overplaying it we all have to conform to rules and regulations you do I do everybody does true but uh but that's too General let's let's make it down monotony is our problem monotony can cause a worker to forget logic and common sense but coffee break stands for something take it away and it suddenly becomes very important the loss can result in bigger and more costly problems I'm not asking that it be taken away all I'm asking is that they take their 10 minutes and let it go with that okay but is that possible well that sounds like a leading question but let's have it oh if the worker has only 10 minutes is it possible for him to get to the place get his coffee and get back in that length of time well I hate to put it like this Joel but that's not my problem well it isn't and yet it is if the situation results in lost time any suggestions what about coffee dispensers located in certain areas no good Amalgamated tried that they really did it up brown stood the expense had an attendant come in twice daily and at first everybody thought it was a great idea it was something for nothing right away the boss was a great guy but it wasn't long until this is coffee gets worse every day she what a chintzy outfit and it wasn't long before human nature began to show through in other ways [Music] speaking of problems the company sponsored coffee break has a few of its own but getting back to this matter of ample time I'd be more lenient in my thinking if the abuse did stem from having to wait for service boy usually it's an entirely different situation I thought you liked it where you were I did did I did but you know Jake uh haven't you guys heard no Jake the foreman you know Jake the foreman yeah me and Jake get into it over a matter of policy can you imagine Jake telling me telling me how to run the shop that please I'll tell you listen there's two things that when they take too long at a coffee break they start yaking and slipping the knife into each other like a bunch of old women but on the other hand Al it can be a place where business is transacted oh sure it can be a period for goofing off but it also can be a good thing a time when your people get to know each other that's good don't you work better with people you know if you're working around strangers you spend a lot of time trying to size them up well you're a worthy opponent I'll say that but now let's consider one of my pet peeves women of course they all have to stop by the power room their 10 minutes is gone with a cigarette and putting on a new face Harry's Diner or the Waldorf it's all the same you never know who might be there and talk about the grap Vine brother this is where the original seeds are planted another complaint is that all too often the few that fear each other get in their own little circle and other people are left out and where do they go on the way back to the office you guessed it the powder room again and all the Readiness procedures and the countless little adjustments known only to a woman [Music] Al for the first time in our whole discussion you're on tilt do I detect a bit of personal Prejudice to a degree perhaps but there's a lot of Truth in what I've said certain people take from 30 to 45 minutes for a coffee break well I can remedy that n jaw they're good workers otherwise you'd have had their names long before this no there has to be another solution this is human nature now you're the expert so I'm giving you the problem and I'm expecting a solution ouch now you may have an educational problem on your hands but one word or another I want our people to realize management side of this problem the dollars and cents angle our people must be taught not to take advantage of a situation that just grew like toppsy there's a present for you Joe for me well thanks go on open [Applause] it I know you've seen one of those before but this one's special turn it over instead of an hour this one measures 10 minutes the theoretical length of time of one of our coffee breaks I want you to use this twice day at 10 and 3 for the length of time necessary for you to come up with a solution to our problem a solution to the problem Hey Joe didn't see you down for coffee man I thought maybe you might be hurting yeah I'm hurting all right how's it oh nothing never mind you'll hear about it soon enough this is a cup of coffee thank you for the coffee yeah anytime Joe anytime well at least it keeps me close to the problem but it still leaves me with one vital unanswered question what can be done about it [Music] [Applause] [Music] he