IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY CHARACTERISTICS OF HOME ENVIRONMENT WHICH RELATED TO THE WORKER'S EMPLOYMENT RECORD, TO TEST METHODS OF OBTAINING INFORMATION, AND TO DEVELOP RATIONALE FOR LATER TESTING, DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM COMPANY RECORDS, A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF 40 EMPLOYEES IN TWO GROUPS, AND INTERVIEWS OF EMPLOYEES' WIVES. ALL PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE SKILLED, SEMISKILLED, AND UNSKILLED WORKERS HAD SIX COMMON CHARACTERISTICS--20-40 YEARS OLD, MARRIED WITH WIFE WORKING OUTSIDE THE HOME LESS THAN 20 HOURS PER WEEK, ETC. WAGE GROUP AT THE TIME OF STUDY DIFFERENTIATED THESE INTO TWO GROUPS--GROUP 1 CONSISTING OF MEN EMPLOYED IN THE THREE LOWEST WAGE GROUPS AND GROUP 2, MEN EMPLOYED IN THE FIVE HIGHEST WAGE GROUPS. DATA WERE ANALYZED BY DEVELOPING AND ANALYZING CASE STUDIES, COMPARING GROUPS, AND EXAMINING INTERCORRELATES OF 116 VARIABLES WITHIN EACH GROUP AND FOR THE TOTAL OF 40 FAMILIES. ABSENTEEISM WAS SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN GROUP 2. BOTH GROUPS AVERAGED ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF PART-TIME JOBS IN ADDITION TO COMPANY JOBS. GROUP 2 HAD MORE SENIORITY, MORE UPWARD WAGE MOBILITY, AND MADE MORE SUGGESTIONS TO THE COMPANY. GROUP 2 FAMILIES WERE HIGHER IN SOCIAL PARTICIPATION AND MORE UPWARDLY MOBILE SOCIALLY, MENTIONED MORE HOME CHARACTERISTICS THEY BELIEVED WOULD INFLUENCE MEN ON THE JOB, AND EXHIBITED MORE HARMONY IN THE FAMILY, BETTER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND MORE DEMOCRATIC DECISION MAKING. ABSENTEEISM CORRELATED POSITIVELY WITH THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN, NUMBER OF MOVES BY FAMILY IN THE PAST 5 YEARS, AND NUMBER OF HOME-INFLUENCING FACTORS IDENTIFIED BY THE WIFE. IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT RELATIONSHIPS IDENTIFIED IN THIS STUDY BE INVESTIGATED FURTHER IN OTHER KINDS OF JOBS FOR WHICH VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROVIDES TRAINING. SAMPLING AND DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES PROVED TO BE EFFICIENT. THIS REPORT APPEARS IN "APPENDIX OF FINAL RESEARCH REPORTS FOR PROJECT IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, NON-METROPOLITAN AREAS," WHICH SUPPLEMENTS VT 001 546. (JM)