A Workplace in Transition

Throughout most of the 1990s the rapid increase in the labor force (those working part- or full-time or unemployed but actively looking for a job) put a severe strain on the economic system to produce more jobs. At the same time, multinational companies shifted many tasks overseas, worldwide competition became more intense, and significant economic activity became international. American companies responded to these changes in many ways:

• Greater use of technologically advanced machinery designed to replace human workers;
• Greater pressure on workers to limit wage and benefit demands (especially for new entrants into the job market), or to "give back" already existing benefits;
• Management programs designed to accomplish more per worker so that the economy could remain competitive with international economies (which often have considerably lower standards of living);
• Employee reductions through layoffs or early retirement;
• Increased attempts...