Chris Durst and Michael Haaren
Many Americans have been justifiably demoralized by record unemployment and "underemployment" rates. And experts are predicting that we may never reach pre-recession employment levels.
Such news makes the 1990s sound positively magnifique. But let's step back a few more years and see what we've really left behind and what we might aim for even yet.
BASELINE: THE 1950s
As many boomers can testify, the 1950s were pretty good years, money-wise. Dad drove a new car to a stable job from the new house in the new suburb, and the average commute was well under an hour. Mom didn't have to work outside the home if she didn't want to.
There was leisure , too. (Remember that word? Sounds like Middle English, now.) On the weekends, people played bridge. In 1958, Charles Goren, a famous bridge player, appeared on the cover of Time. Bridge was "America's No. 1 Card Game." Goren had a TV show and a column in Sports Illustrated. No skimpy swimsuit, just plain cards. People played golf and tennis. They joined country clubs. They dressed up and went to "cocktail parties."
Now, it all sounds like the Russian nobility, kicking up their heels before the Bolshevik Revolution.
FAST FORWARD TO 2011
If you're driving a new car these days, that guy in the rearview mirror with the tattooed pate and intent look on his face is probably a repo man (followed by a reality TV crew).
And if you expect to have a lifelong job, you may have just tumbled out of a flying saucer and haven't woken up yet. (In distant galaxies, the 1950s may still prevail.)
If you commute an hour each way, count your blessings. In northern Virginia recently, with a bit of snow on the road, it took Mike eight and a half hours to drive 9 miles. Some drivers took 13 hours to cover their 20-mile commute.
Bridge? A reckless few might play solitaire on their computers at work now and then (if they've still got a job). But it's awfully hard to imagine someone coming home from a 60-hour week working three part-time jobs to spend their four remaining minutes of free weekend time joyfully relaxing with complex statistical calculations and strategic hypotheses. You might as well go back to work or help your kids with algebra.
For our part, we haven't been to any cocktail parties or country clubs lately, though that's not to say we wouldn't go if invited (if we could find the time or the energy; or maybe we'd send an avatar). Some people still play golf and tennis -- though the recession has hurt these industries, too. But it's much cheaper and more convenient to pick up a Wii controller and play on the screen. And you might actually cajole your partner or an offspring into joining you, too, and spend some precious time together.
FAST FORWARD TO 2021
Times have changed again. But now, people are working from home as often as they like, and when they walk down the street for lunch, they meet their neighbors and have a meal together.
The choice of jobs and occupations is much broader and more interesting than it used to be, because employers don't have to be local. With advanced videoconferencing and other communications, you can interact realistically with anyone just about anywhere.
The workweek has receded to reasonable levels, because younger workers finally drew the line and refused to accept their parents' crushing schedules. Many have gone into business for themselves, rediscovering the entrepreneurial drive that used to be a signal trait of the American spirit.
And now we have bridge, too. If not the card game, something even better -- a bridge to a better life.
Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living.
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Hollecrest & Associates Inc -"Turnaround Consultants" .
Sunridge Lodge "Back to Eden" Quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
Brant Positive Action Group "a positive community affirmative action group"
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