Rebooting Work

The Old World, New Again

A little more than a century ago, nine out of 10 white American males worked for themselves. Indeed, for hundreds of years before that, most workers cherished their independence. Everything changed abruptly at the turn of the 20th century. Millions of people moved to cities and took jobs in factories. The insatiable demand for labor turned societies in advanced nations from rural and farm-based to urban and industrial almost overnight. Some workers sought the security of a salary and fixed hours, but most made the move because industrialization mechanized the farm economy and eliminated much of their manual work. Brutal conditions in factories – long workdays, constant physical danger and low pay – produced massive turnover, “labor unrest,” and headaches for industrialists and authorities.

Enlightened employers foresaw the future. Increasing union power and the New Deal presaged the greater competition for labor that arose with World War II and dominated the US work experience for the next 50 years. Workers demanded better conditions and protections; employers created the “paternalistic” workplace in which you followed the rules to gain job...