Feature Story
Our American Workforce
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or over 100 years, the United States has been the most productive nation in the world. Although we were well on our way during the late 1800s, it was the mass production of American industry during World War I, that launched us fully onto the world stage as the hardest working, most productive nation in history. That work ethic is the essence of the American culture. The people who immigrated here, the people who populated this country, did not come here looking for a leisure life, they came here wanting the opportunity to work. They brought their inherent work ethic with them and pounded that into the foundation of the American culture. That culture, that work ethic made America the most productive country in the world. That productivity is why we have the highest standard of living for the largest number of people, ever. It has made America the most desired destination in the world. Everyone wants to come here. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, ‘being on- line’ was how you were picked for the few jobs that were available and how you lined up on the bread lines if you were not. Lack of work is the number one cause of poverty. That time without work for 10 years, is still considered the longest period of most misery in the 20th century for us. This was the time of the highest unemployment for the longest period of time in the country, before or since. The number of marriages plummeted, the birth rates dropped to the lowest in our history before or since. The average body weight went lower, the average life span was shortened. The number of homeless people grew to millions. Most of those on the road then were not called homeless, they were ‘Hoboes’. The hoboes were almost all men and most of them still held tight to that culture of work ethic. Their standard approach was to ask if they could clean your yard, shovel in your coal, fix your fence or do your chores for a sandwich. They mostly traveled and looked for work. People in the towns and in the farmlands would find some kind of work for them to do. They wanted to earn their way and keep their self-respect. During World War II in the 1940s, America did not win the war, that was the result of the combined ‘Allies’. We were a major part of that alliance. But we were the primary, and in most cases, the only, source for the ships, planes, tanks, cannons, guns, ammunition, medicine, clothing and food for Europe, England, and Russia, as well as for many other countries. Americans built more factories, machines and war materials, then all the allies combined. We were the “Allies Quartermaster”. And “Rosie the Riveter’ proved that the work ethic was not just a man’s culture, but the American culture. When the war was over, America’s “Marshall Plan’
by Bill Cook, Human Resource Associates produced millions of tons of food, medicine, clothing et al, to feed Europe. Americans continued to provide those badlyneeded products for over 10 years. Work is the foundation of this country. We are not a top down government-controlled economy. It’s the work that you individually create. Combined with the work I create, combined with the team we work with and then with other teams in other companies in other industries and in other states. That combined total is the American economy; dependent on the individual work initiated by that first person, you. No one hates work. All energy applied to move or alter anything is defined as work. Working on your hobby is work. Building a doghouse, making a cake with your son or daughter, or studying for a test is work. It’s not work people hate, it’s the surrounding conditions that they may not like.
Doing work you don’t like or aren’t good at can be pretty unlikable. But doing the work you like and are good at, is the surest way to success. The purpose of work is not just to make a living, the right work can develop your abilities and expand your accomplishments. It can broaden your world, change who you are and philosophers say it can grow your soul. What makes work more enjoyable? Doing work you like and are good at, having control over what and how you do it, freedom to think and act, developing, improving, creating, advancing and succeeding make any work enjoyable. Sometimes the best friends you make are those you accomplish something with. And sometimes just working with people you like and who like you is enough. Work-life balance is a current concern and understandably so. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” said another philosopher. Family, recreation, distractions and work all have a place in our lives. How much you do of each is an individual choice. But, recognize that your focus is your future. The individual who swings that balance a little more
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