The Industrial Revolution & Workplace Culture Today
The beginning of September marks the transition from summer to fall, with one of the most widely celebrated federal holidays — Labor Day.
And as a workplace culture consultant, you know I have opinions about this.
Labor Day (Sept 5th this year) is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.
In the 19th century, Labor Day was created by labor activists who wanted a formal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers made to America’s prosperity. When thousands of workers in Chicago (my home town!) took to the streets to demand better working conditions.
Work conditions were unsafe, punishment was rampant, and a standard work week was 12 hours per day, six days per week.
Workers of all kinds took unpaid time off to march for shorter workdays and better conditions, ending with picnics, fireworks, and dancing.
140 years later, we’re still celebrating.
Among other things, this is a testament to how the industrial revolution shaped our work culture today. Hard work has been celebrated for many generations, and across many cultures. But how long will these traditional ideals define the success of organizations and talent for the future?
My POV: they haven’t been for a while.
The world of work is changing. Employees’ priorities are shifting, and workplace cultures must shift too, if companies will retain top talent, and send home employees that make positive contributions in their communities.
The data shows that:
> Happy employees are 12% more productive, and outperform their competition by 20%
> Operating income may increase by 19% when workplace culture is healthy
While we all appreciate a day off, I think it’s worth it to question: what are we really celebrating on Labor Day? Does that align with our work values of today? Is your organization acting in a way that will translate into a healthy work environment and happier employees, or reinforcing outdated perspectives on what work should look like today?
Labor Day marks a revolutionary time in the working world. Some have leaned into what the workforce was asking for, and repeated the rewards. Others continued to resist workplace culture advancements, and the same is happening today.
The best workplaces of today and tomorrow are prioritizing culture. I believe that now is the time to revolutionize work — again. The same ideals that defined individual, organizational, and national success 140 years ago are not necessarily the ones that will define success today and tomorrow.
