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Home > Jobs & Careers > Jobs & Careers (Other): The personal costs of having a permanent job

The true personal costs of having a permanent job are the things you give up to have one. Perhaps no one knows that better than war brides of the 1930's and 40's. With their men fighting a war overseas and a deep depression darkening America, women, including my mother, often supported their families and the war effort by working factory jobs, their children cared for by grandparents who cooked, cleaned, and "kept the home fires burning." Back then it is doubtful that women gave much thought to the personal costs of a permanent job. They needed food and shelter, and were grateful for a permanent job that would provide it.

By 1946 when I was born, times had changed. The war had ended and America was experiencing the second of three years of conversion from war to peace. A new economic crisis, the Great Depression of 1946, was creating havoc, but with the return of the soldiers from the war, some women were now fortunate enough to at least consider the personal costs of having a permanent job.

My mother was one of them. With my father providing food and shelter, she considered being away from her newborn infant and pre-school children to be a higher cost than any benefit a permanent job could supply at that time in her life. While many of her friends thrived on their work at the factory, she chose to be a stay-at-home Mom. My siblings and I often marvel at how she was always there for us. On our long walks home from school we'd anticipate the warmth and aroma of her home-cooked lunches and dinners that never failed to greet us as we raced each other through the front door. And whether we bounced into the kitchen to share a victory report or collapsed sobbing in her arms from a broken teenage heart, she was always available for support, comfort and counsel. If she ever envied her friends' salaries she never let on, nor did she complain about other sacrifices she must've made that allowed seven of us to live on one income. We survived because she taught us to live simply. We spent less, traveled less, and learned to want less.

At the 'empty nest' stage of her life, the question of personal costs of a permant job surfaced once more, and again, the answer was obvious. The timing was perfect, the economy was strong, she was in good health, and a job offer was at hand. She accepted, working and achieving top performance ratings long past retirement age.

When my first

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