Introduction
The need to earn a living has long been the central goal for many. While taking Jill Lepore’s essay as a background, one can trace critical changes in the American workforce over recent years. It illustrates how many employees today, like Maria Fernandes, face low wages and must take on multiple jobs to afford basic living expenses.
This reflects more profound problems with how labor is organized and compensated in the US. To answer what is wrong with how people work today, relevant findings from Lepore’s text will be reviewed and interpreted in their respective contexts. The issues of stagnating wages, the steep decline in union membership and bargaining power, and unsustainable schedules that have become a norm will be viewed as the main implications of the problem.
Stagnating Wages and the “Great Decoupling”
One of the central issues that Lepore highlights is the “Great Decoupling” of the 1980s. According to the author, “wages and economic growth used to track each other” but then dramatically diverged (Lepore). As Lepore notes, from around the 1980s, the gross domestic product continued growing steadily, “even as real wages stagnated” for most employees (Lepore). This decoupling marked a critical shift because wages had previously increased alongside performance and economic benefits.
Not everything was easy with the fair compensation factor in the country. As the author states, about wealth, “much of it went to chief executives” (Lepore). Company owners could not complain about the low standard of living, while their subordinates were forced to make enormous efforts to survive.
As a result of stagnating income that failed to keep pace with the rising living costs, many Americans like Maria Fernandes were forced to take on additional jobs and longer hours to afford necessities. While corporations and executives saw their profits grow more extensively, the burden increasingly fell on workers. With stagnant wages despite working long hours, many struggle today to pay for housing, food, healthcare, and other living expenses. This imbalance reflects how the current economic system fails to distribute prosperity to all fairly.
Decline of Unions and Bargaining Power
Another significant development that has exacerbated economic inequality is the abrupt decline in union membership among US workers in recent decades. As per Lepore, in the 1950s, at the height of union power, over one-third of the workforce participated in their internal work cells. Nonetheless, by 2018, union membership had sharply fallen to comprising only one in ten employees; as a result, “union membership declined” (Lepore). As unions grew weaker with this dramatic loss of numbers and bargaining leverage, the ability of workers to collectively negotiate for better compensation and working conditions from their employers weakened. With one-third of the labor force united, unions had once empowered employees to demand fair salaries that increased alongside economic performance.
However, without an assertive means to bargain as a unified group, individual workers found themselves with little power against large corporations when negotiating contracts or resolving disputes. The erosion of unions has critically weakened workers’ ability to advocate for themselves, leaving many powerless and without representation. This erosion of collective bargaining opportunity has stimulated the stagnation of wages and deterioration of labor conditions for all except for high-paid workers.
Unsustainable Work Schedules
An exhausting work schedule sheds light on another serious issue – a culture where punishing hours have become the norm for many to earn a living wage. In Lepore’s example, Fernandes held down two full-time jobs, working from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at one and then 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. at her overnight shift, on top of weekend morning shifts. When her boyfriend urged her to cancel one of the jobs to gain some semblance of a life outside, she refused, saying, “I’m used to it now” (Lepore).
For many Americans today, grueling schedules with little rest have become accepted due to financial needs. As wages have failed to rise, employees have no choice but to take on more work to afford necessities. Such unsustainable schedules “are often set by algorithms that aim to maximize profits for investors by reducing breaks and pauses” (Lepore). Working round the clock leaves no time for rest, loved ones, healthcare, or other priorities. Thus, the need for many to apply for multiple jobs reflects more profound flaws in the economy, which shows no respect for the efforts of its workforce.
Conclusion
Jill Lepore’s essay sheds necessary light on serious issues facing American workers. Flat wage growth and the rapid weakening of labor unions, and the normalization of punishing work schedules have left employees with little power or say over their conditions. A just economic system should fairly distribute gains from growth to all contributors, empower collective worker bargaining, and prioritize employee well-being over relentless profit maximization. By closely examining the struggles faced by Fernandes, Lepore’s essay prompts the essential consideration of reforms needed to restructure how work is organized in ways that better serve the balanced interests of all Americans.
Work Cited
Lepore, Jill. “What’s Wrong with the Way We Work.” The New Yorker. 2021. Web.