(It feels almost disrespectful to publish anything beyond the horrors of Ukraine, but more of my words won’t stop a single bullet or serve as sand in the gears of a Russian tank. So … )
I’ve always felt a strong connection to the Great Depression. My parents lived through it, and in textbook research, I absorbed the heartbreaking photos of Margaret Bourke White and Walker Evans, and vicariously connected with stories and songs by James Agee, Woody Guthrie, and John Steinbeck. As a Midwesterner raised in farm country, grandson of a proud man who lost a farm during the Depression, the Dust Bowl images and stories hit particularly close to home.
I believe the economic disasters of that time shaped the American psyche for generations. We’ve all seen comically frugal behavior (saving string, tin foil, money under mattresses), but its greatest effects involve how we view and experience work in our society.
Work has been central to our lives and identities, a huge part of “who we are.” A work description is the expected answer to the get-acquainted question, “What do you do?” Vacations are defined by the absence of work; obituaries describe work histories before family or other activities.
Retirement is a double-edged sword: it severs the mooring rope of a job so we can enjoy some free sailing, but it chops at one of the roots of our identity as well. For decades, the self-image of many middle- and upper-class Americans could be summarized as “we are what we do at work.” (I believe lower-income workers struggled to resist definition by a minimum wage or low job expectations.)
But it appears that the short leash of one long-term, unsatisfying job is being cast off by younger generations (“millennials” and “Gen Z”) and some COVID-awakened others. Job statistics are inconsistent, but the rate of “quits” followed by a new job or career is at near-record levels. Some who look at meta-trends (there’s a Gen Z word!) call it the Great Resignation, Big Quit, or Great Reboot (another computer-age word) but regardless of its name, they agree it’s real.
Every employable person is now experiencing the opposite of the Great Depression. After the Wall Street crash of 1929, Americans suffered more than a decade of job shortages with a labor surplus. Government programs (WPA, CCC, etc.) eventually rescued some from the long lines at the soup kitchens and day-labor sites, giving hope to those near starvation in hobo jungles and “Hoovervilles” across the country. For most, a job — nearly any job at even the lowest pay — was salvation, a path out of the worldwide economic desert that lasted until World War II.
But today, it’s American companies that are starving — for workers. Hardest hit are service industries, notorious for low pay and long hours, that make up 74% of the American economy. In December, 2021, there were only .6 unemployed people for every job opening. Many employers are offering signing bonuses, flexible schedules, and increased wages. Some union workers in the Midwest and West recently signed contracts after strikes, gaining higher wages and better benefits.
But beyond pay and benefits, it seems that those currently considering a job change (over 50% in studies) have finally escaped a powerful corporate myth: Companies care about their workers and deserve their loyalty.
Katie Hitchcock-Smith described herself as a “jaded millennial and serial job jumper” in the Boston Globe. She’s quit two of three corporate jobs in three years, and states she’d “do it again” because she is finally acting on what she’s known for years: “Company loyalty doesn’t pay, monetarily or otherwise.” She notes that corporations have systematically chosen to underpay workers during the pandemic, while corporate profits have soared.
This generational change goes beyond corporations, affecting nonprofits, social services, and education. One ex-teacher in California said, “You don’t want to leave the students,” but she found that her treatment during COVID wasn’t based on “my health, the health of the kids, or the mental well-being of anybody. It’s a business and it’s about money. The pandemic ripped that veil from my eyes.”
Will there be long-lasting effects on employment in America? Or will employers return to paying the lowest wages with the least benefits as soon as the cycle puts leverage back in their hands? I’m afraid our unchecked capitalist system will again show that employee loyalty doesn’t pay. There are rare exceptions, but too many companies chase the bottom line at the expense of their workers, our communities, and our nation.
Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era crime novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident. His column appears regularly on a Saturday. Comments are welcome here or at awoods2846@gmail.com.