Work in Modern America
Work in Modern America The modern day American society hosts a broad spectrum of industries with various occupations and professions to engage today’s workforce. America, much like most first world countries is a service economy based on the exchange of knowledge and expertise rather than materials and products. People have a long history of work and work evolution that has ultimately brought America to a service economy producing both strengths and weaknesses within the society and its economy. As America has moved to a service economy, much of the manufacturing and production jobs have moved oversees to third world countries creating a reliance on other economies. This globalization of the workforce as well as unionization, and the increasing power of large corporations have greatly changed the face of the American workforce and the quality of employment and the definition of work in America. The purpose of this paper is to analyze these positive and negative impacts that the service economy has had on America and connect the progression of this economy to the current issues concerning unions, globalization, the influence of corporate America over the rest of the society, and how these interconnected issues have affected people’s relationships with work and family. The human work environment has changed more dramatically and rapidly in the last century than in any other time in history. Humans for the majority of recorded history have been nomadic hunters and gatherers. It was not until around 9000 B.C. that Agricultural societies began to develop (Hodson, R. & Sullivan T.A.2008). As these cultures developed, they gave way to the great ancient civilizations of the Inca’s, Egyptians, and other Imperial societies that “gave rise to large cities… [and] several thousand people lived off the surplus of the surrounding area” (Hodson, R. & Sullivan T.A., 2008, p.14). Craft trades were developed during this time, but the emergence of guilds and
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