Job quality in history

This article argues that work is an important aspect of quality of life in the past and constructs a system of Historical Job Quality Indicators (HJQI). The indicators are derived from historical workers’ perspectives about aspects of jobs that they valued and that contributed to realizing their capabilities. The article uses the HJQI to analyze the mechanization of spinning in Britain (c. 1760–1830). In factory jobs, pay was higher but work was more tiring and dangerous, and workers had less autonomy than in pre-industrial employment. Job quality also became more unequal on non-wage dimensions during the First Industrial Revolution.