Homers: Secrets on the Factory Floor

Homers are things you make for personal use while on company time. Professor Michel Anteby says that although the practice might be illegal, some companies secretly endorse it. Here’s why.

A factory worker uses company time and materials to fashion a lamp he will take home for personal use—an artifact called a "homer." The practice is probably illegal and clearly against written company policy. If discovered, the worker could be fired on the spot for his action.

The consequences of homer making seem cut and dried. But not so fast, says Harvard Business School assistant professor Michel Anteby. In interviews with retirees of the French Pierreville aeronautics plant, Anteby found, perhaps not surprisingly, a veil of secrecy around the practice—but also a quiet complicity between workers and management.

Perhaps most surprising of all, Anteby argues, is that the practice may help some organizations be more effective. Homer making keeps teams together and skills sharp during idle times in the highly cyclic aeronautics business, for example. Also, someone’s well-crafted homer can be a source of pride when fellow workers take note. Says Anteby: "If employers are able to tap into these drivers, and remain within the legal boundary, then they might be in a better position to allow their employees to blossom."

by Sean Silverthorne, Editor, HBS Working Knowledge

Full Story: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5035&t=bizhistory