Toy Industry Workers

The production floor of some toy factories is simply a large room in which workers perform routine tasks. A factory may employ as many as several hundred people to do production work. Some people work at machines, while others sit at tables or assembly lines. Some workers stand throughout much of the work day. Workers often have to meet production schedules and quotas, so they have to keep up a brisk work pace. Some people are bored by the repetition in many production jobs, because they must do the same few tasks over and over for long periods.

In smaller companies, the work may be highly seasonal. Getting the company's products ready for selling in the Christmas season, and to some extent, the Easter season, can mean that employees are asked to put in 10 or more hours of work a day. And if the company makes a product that becomes extremely popular, workers may have to scramble to make enough of the item to keep up with demand. But in the off-peak season, usually the winter months, and in average conditions, production workers may have reduced hours or may be laid off. In many shops, some production workers are employed only five or six months a year. Management and other professional employees work year-round. They may need to put in overtime hours during peak seasons or before trade shows, but they do not earn overtime pay.