In a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers late last year, 73% of manufacturers said attracting and retaining a quality workforce was a chief business challenge. Two-thirds said they were responding by giving more work to existing employees. There are other remedies, including hiring temporary workers, installing robots and partnering with schools to develop a new generation of employees. But, “the short-term response is to keep giving workers a lot of overtime,” says Denise Rice, director of the Tennessee Manufacturers Association.