<Narrator> Support for "Reconnecting Roots is provided by the following: RPC.

♪ gentle acoustic guitar ♪ "Plain Values," a magazine on a mission to find joy in the simple things.

Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots."

At TowHaul, we value the creativity and hard work that built this country and improves our lives by supporting education towards careers in manufacturing and the trades.

TowHaul, proud sponsor of "Reconnecting Roots" and public television.

♪ Working nine to five ♪ ♪ What a way to make a living ♪ <Gabe> In early America, people basically had one job, survive.

Now we have a limitless variety of jobs, but is it harder to find purpose in the work we do now?

<Mike Rowe> Somebody has looked around and said "The reason people are sad, unhappy, and miserable is because work is bad."

<Gabe> From crops to cubicles, how the work we do today is unrecognizable to those from generations past.

♪ upbeat music ♪ ♪ soft music ♪ I'm Gabe McCauley.

Join me as we explore the greatness of America.

♪ Beautiful for spacious skies amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ Purple mountains majesties on the fruited plains ♪ ♪ We're home ♪ ♪ uplifting music ♪ ♪ ♪ music continues ♪ Tracing the roots of progress from then to now and how, this is "Reconnecting Roots."

♪ ♪ baroque music ♪ Leonardo Da Vinci, the quintessential Renaissance man.

<Leonardo portrayal> Grazie.

<Gabe> And sure, I, I, I guess his paintings are pretty good.

<Mona Lisa portrayal> I'm a masterpiece.

<Gabe> He was also fascinated with the sun and the world of astronomy.

It seems he spent much of his life looking up.

He was also working his way up the corporate ladder, so to speak, when he wrote the first resume known to history.

In 1482, he sent a letter to the Regent of Milan applying for a job in an area where his talents overlapped opportunity.

He was hired, and brought from Tuscany to Milan, and one of the perks of his new job was working from home, which happened to be Sforza Castle.

♪ upbeat music ♪ The desire for a good job didn't start and end with Da Vinci's resume.

It's a goal that virtually every American has considered, though the criteria for a good job have changed over time.

It used to mean keeping your family fed while not killing you in the process.

Jobs like tailors, cobblers, and blacksmiths.

Survival and provision are still key, but with a number of jobs today, and advances in technology, we can afford to be a little more nuanced in our decision making.

As of 2021, there are over 150 million jobs in the US, many of which didn't even exist 25 years ago, let alone a hundred.

♪ We also have greater freedom in how we work.

You can start a career, work full-time, part-time, on the payroll, or as a contract worker.

The employment landscape of today is enough to make our ancestors' heads explode.

♪ music continues ♪ <Mike Rowe> With this robust palette of job options coloring our landscape of labors, one might wonder if, just like Leonardo, we're in a career renaissance of our own.

To get the straight dirt on what it's like to work in America, I went to the expert, a man who gives voice to the unsung heroes of America's workforce, and gives his voice to a number of television shows, commercials, and a popular podcast called "The Way I Heard It."

♪ soft music in background ♪ Is it more like that?

<Gabe> Good.

Good.

No, I, I do like it.

It's just, I think we probably could try going again a little up in register, and a little through the nose, a little more nasal, and then I think we've got it, but just give me one more if you don't mind.

<Mike> You got it, I know exactly what you mean.

<Gabe> Yeah, that's good.

<Mike> With this robust palette of job options coloring our landscape- <Gabe> Filling in for me on the mic is Mike Rowe, the host of "Dirty Jobs," a show that added over 300 different jobs to his resume.

Mike took five from as many labors to talk about what job opportunities really look like in America.

You've got benefits, perks.

It's relatively safe for most people.

Endless opportunities.

<Mike> So many small businesses in this country, if you walk them back to their inciting incident, it's a proprietor mastering a skill that's in demand.

Now, what does that person do once they have that skill?

Some spend the rest of their lives applying their trade, but others buy a van, and hire somebody else and next thing you know, that welding certificate turns into a plumbing certificate, and then there's a heating and air conditioning, and then there's another van, another five people, and it's a mechanical contracting company.

And that's the identity that I'm interested in exploring.

<Gabe> Were there any jobs that you didn't even know existed before you ran into them on "Dirty Jobs?"

<Mike> We've profiled feces from every species in season one, but in season two, I turned everything over to the viewer because we had so many letters from people.

Avian vomitologist.

I didn't know that was a job.

It is.

<Gabe> Besides the lessons you learned for yourself, what did it teach you about the American workforce, about the workers themselves?

<Mike> There were over 40 people on "Dirty Jobs" who were multimillionaires.

People are always surprised to hear that, because the most successful people on that program didn't look like what successful people are supposed to look like.

They were covered in mud, or dirt, or something much worse.

<Gabe> I've been thinking about this distinction between job, work, and vocation.

<Mike> Frost actually wrote about vocation and avocation.

He's chopping wood out in his backyard, and these lumberjacks come out of the hills, looking all ragged, and "This is what we do for money."

And of course, Frost was like, "Well, this is what I do for love."

And the poem is a rumination on who has the greater claim to the work.

<Gabe> Right.

<Mike> Right?

The vocation or the avocation.

Where love and need are one, and work is play for mortal stakes is what he ultimately concludes, because he's Robert Frost, and he's very smart.

<Gabe> He is.

<Mike> Was.

<Gabe> Hmmm.

(Gabe laughing) <Mike> Rest his soul.

♪ soft music ♪ <Gabe> European immigrants of the 18th and 19th centuries came to America looking for, you guessed it, work.

Some made their own way across the ocean.

Some negotiated the terms of indentured servitude before leaving on their harrowing journey, agreeing to essentially be a slave for a period of time in exchange for passage.

The average contract was four to seven years of work, and then they would be free.

By the time the American Revolution happened, 80% of the 230,000 English immigrants were indentured servants.

But this workforce was even smaller than the 360,000 African immigrants who were mostly slaves.

Of course, they weren't promised freedom like the indentured servants were when they finished their contracts.

Many immigrants, free and slaves, worked on farms.

In fact, most of the free European immigrants came because land was cheaper here than there.

And when indentured servants finished their contracts, they'd typically start farming for themselves.

By 1860, over 3 million free Americans, and nearly 4 million slaves worked on farms.

And it was hard taxing backbreaking work, as these farmers were literally carrying out subsistence work to provide for their families and communities.

But just over the horizon was a revolution creeping up that would change the workplace forever.

♪ upbeat rock music ♪ ♪ (metal clanging) (phone ringing) <Boss> Traditional farmer's breakfast, big bowl of corn.

<Gabe> Cereal.

<Boss> Oh, I am cereal.

Dead serious.

Cereal, dead cereal.

Saved it.

<Gabe> So- <Boss> Swing by my office when you're all done, I've got something for you that is going to be life-changing.

(pot smashing) Let's, let's have somebody take care of that.

I can't, I've got a big mess.

So if you could... Somebody.

<Boss> The industrial revolution is here, baby, and I love it!

People say that I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, but I mean, who doesn't love Kool-Aid?

It's delicious.

I'll have a big gulp, please, because production has increased dramatically.

We've opened up a ton of new jobs.

We've...

There's even been a boom in the population, because, you know, people are having more babies since they're... You know.

(phone ringing) (indistinct chatter) Yeah, you tell them that industrial jobs pay a lot more money.

Yeah, they're going to have to get used to being rich.

Tell them.

(phone clanging) Ah, listen, I have got some great news for you.

Call me Geppetto because... pulled some strings for you.

<Seller> Do you want a full reference <Boss> We are promoting you to the factories.

<Gabe> Thank you.

<Boss> You're welcome.

<Gabe> I don't think I can accept.

<Boss> Wait, wait, sorry, what?

Have you...

I don't want to be overly dramatic here, Gabe, but that would be the worst mistake ever made in the history of mistakes, and the entire universe could collapse because of it, so... <Gabe> I have years of experience being a farm man, but I don't have any skills for the factories.

<Boss> You don't need any skills, right?

At the factory, the labor's all divided up.

And it's so efficient, you only do like one thing the whole time.

<Gabe> I like seeing my work from start to finish, and in the factories, I'll just be another cog- <Both> In the wheel.

<Boss> Right, yeah.

But you are already.

I mean, you don't own the farms that you work on, right?

You're just a hired hand.

So why not be a better, you know...cooler cog?

Look, the Industrial Revolution is changing farming, too.

Soon, they're not even going to need you.

So why not, make the equipment instead of being replaced by it?

(phone ringing) <Gabe> Okay.

I accept.

<Boss> Yes!

(chuckling) Cog-gratulations.

(chuckling) <Gabe> Do I think it's the right move?

Yeah, I suppose so.

I mean, the hot sun beating down your neck for hours, the calluses that form on top of your other calluses from handling rake all day.

Industrial jobs.

It's got to be better.

Right?

(static fizzles) (record skips) ♪ upbeat rock music ♪ ♪ ♪ Everyone's watching ♪ ♪ To see what you will do ♪ ♪ Everyone's looking at you ♪ ♪ ♪ Everyone's wondering will you come out tonight ♪ ♪ ♪ Everyone's trying to get it right ♪ ♪ Get it right ♪ ♪ Everybody's working for the weekend ♪ ♪ ♪ Everybody wants a little romance ♪ ♪ ♪ Everybody's going off the deep end ♪ ♪ ♪ Everybody needs a second chance ♪ ♪ You want a piece of my heart ♪ ♪ You better start from start ♪ ♪ You wanna be in the show ♪ ♪ Come on baby lets go ♪ ♪ upbeat rock music continues ♪ ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ ♪ music fades ♪ ♪ gentle music ♪ <Gabe> At the beginning of the 19th century, there were no wage standards that would guarantee fair pay.

(change chinking) There also weren't any standards for the number of hours you had to work.

(machine clanging) Many people worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week, ♪ leading to some completely exhausted employees, which didn't pair well with safety standards that were extravagantly nonexistent.

(worker screaming and crashing) ♪ gentle music continues ♪ But work culture and the country itself is rapidly changing.

♪ music continues ♪ ♪ ♪ music transitions ♪ For years, workers had pressured their employers to improve working conditions.

When the Great Depression era hit in the 1930s, unemployment was as high as 25%.

The government took union demands and made them the law as a way to try and revive the economy.

Things like standard wage rates being set, which gave people a better idea of how much they were supposed to earn, and making the standard work week only 40 hours.

Other perks became popular during this time, like sick days, and everyone's favorite, vacation.

<Gabe> Have fun in the sun while getting paid!

Take a break from work to spend time with the family, or get away from them.

You'll love it so much you may think to yourself, "What if there's more to life than work?"

Or "What if one day you didn't have to work at all?"

Well, here's something that'll razz your berries.

Introducing retirement!

Your employer will thank you for leaving, since it makes room for younger workers who they think will be better, and cheaper, and faster than you.

But don't worry, the government started the social security program in the 1930s to make sure you still get paid.

Well, not much, but you've got savings, right?

So forget about asking your boss for time off.

Send them a postcard instead.

(camera shuttering) With the 1950s, a job in an office was a standard gig, and created a new workplace culture that's still common today.

<Rosie> It wasn't only the jobs themselves.

The types of people doing the jobs changed as well.

<Gabe> (chuckles) That's right, Rosie.

You know, things such as- <Rosie> I've got it from here, Gabe.

<Gabe> Yes, ma'am.

<Rosie> Such as more women in the workplace who made up nearly a third of the workforce after a hiring boom during World War II.

More non-white workers were getting office jobs, and starting to close the wage gap between them and their white peers.

People with disabilities fought hard for a better place in the workforce, and helped pass laws guaranteeing fair access to employment, housing, and education.

All of these changes culminated in the expansion of the middle class, which represents the average working American, and their families.

Even though no one could quite agree on exactly how to define the middle class.

What started as a grouping based on values like education and self-discipline became an economic demographic that was marketed to, and used as a tool in marketing.

Through advertisements, exhibits, and even TV sitcoms, companies sold the idea of the American dream as working hard, buying things, and climbing the corporate ladder, which was a relatively new concept.

Now, people were starting to truly think about their long-term careers, which ironically, started a new career of counseling others in their careers.

<Gabe> Any career advice for me?

♪ <Rosie> Yeah, I think we should find new ones.

I like hosting TV shows, but it seems like we can never get a raise around here.

<Gabe> Yeah, I love my job, but the hours.

<Rosie> They keep getting longer.

<Gabe> It's not just us.

Since 1948, worker productivity grew 246%, but wages only grew by 115%.

Millennials are 40% less likely to earn more than their parents compared to adults born 40 years prior.

On top of that, the amount of benefits given to employees has declined in recent years.

If we're becoming better workers, why aren't we earning more?

There are several reasons.

The first being our population growth.

Our workforce has almost doubled in the past 50 years, and that's a lot more people for the job system to support.

To help fix these issues, some have pushed to increase the minimum wage, which could potentially lift millions out of poverty, but opponents argue it could lead to jobs being lost and increased inflation.

♪ Another challenge facing our workforce is a two-fold crisis.

College-required jobs that can't pay back the inflated cost of a degree, and millions of unfilled jobs requiring simple certification.

The shortage of skilled labor causes problems across the board, from manufacturing to utilities.

<Mike> I don't think the skills gap is a great mystery.

I think it's a result of what we value.

Somebody, the collective, us, has looked around, and said "The reason people are sad, unhappy, and miserable is because work is bad, and we're just working too much.

It's too hard."

Hard work, delayed gratification, a positive attitude, some measure of personal responsibility combined with the affirmative willingness to learn a skill that's actually in demand, that's what's for sale at mikeroweWORKS.

And for that reason, we don't offer scholarships for four-year schools.

<Gabe> Running the mikeroweWORKS Foundation isn't just another gig for Mike's resume.

It's a passion with a goal to close the skills gap by promoting skilled trades with scholarships to cover the cost of certification.

<Mike> 1.7 trillion dollars in student loans on the books, over 9 million open positions, none of which require a four-year degree, okay?

So if you wanna talk about a disconnect- <Gabe> Yeah.

<Mike> We are still putting incredible pressure on kids to borrow sums of money that they will never be able to pay back in order to get educated for jobs that frankly don't exist anymore.

<Gabe> Give us some good examples of the individuals that you've helped out.

<Mike> Chloe Hudson was this close to signing student loans that would've put her about $400,000 in debt to pursue her dream.

Her dream job was to become a plastic surgeon.

She just ran her own calculus, applied instead for a work ethic scholarship, we gave her a few grand, she learned to weld, and today she's down at Joe Gibbs Racing.

She makes 130, $140,000 a year, but more importantly, she loves what she's doing.

She's a beautiful woman with these great fake eyelashes.

She's not the welder you're imagining.

<Gabe> Is running themikerowe WORKS Foundation your dream job?

(Mike laughing) <Mike> Now that I'm doing it, I'd be a fool not to love it.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Mike> You know, the foundation is a scholarship fund, and we've helped a lot of people.

We've given away a million dollars a year.

I think the jobs in the skills gap are the exact jobs that we're trying to make a case for.

That's why work ethic gets tied into what we do, because it's tied into everything.

♪ gradual music ♪ <Employee> Man, you sure do love typing, don't you?

You know, you can just talk, and your computer will transcribe everything for you, right?

<Gabe> Why are you online?

Doesn't your shift start later?

Coffee bot, make one cup.

<Employee> I guess I just get lonely when I'm not at the office.

I don't know.

<Robot> Employee Gabe, you are needed in Mr. Robert's office.

Good day.

<Employee> (laughing) It sounds like somebody made our robot overlords mad.

(laughing) (stutters) I was kidding, by the way, in case anyone heard that.

(Gabe knocking) (Mr. Robert whirring as a robot) <Mr.

Robert> There's my favorite employee, Gabe!

Have a seat.

(whoopee cushion farting) Someone open a window.

<Gabe> Classic.

(Mr. Robert whirring) <Mr.

Robert> But enough tomfoolery.

I hear you're thinking about quitting.

Why is that?

<Gabe> Oh, I guess word travels fast.

<Mr.

Robert> Oh, we have microphones, everywhere.

<Gabe> There's no company culture here.

I don't feel like I'm really a part of something.

<Mr.

Robert> But what about our unlimited PTO?

And how we let you work from home a few days a week?

Our algorithms predict those things should make you happy.

<Gabe> Look, they replaced my human boss with you, a robot.

<Mr.

Robert> But I'm not like the others.

I'm very human!

I enjoy crushing brews while cheering on the sports team!

<Gabe> I wanna have a career with a purpose, not just a primary objective.

<Mr.

Robert> I never knew that was an option.

<Gabe> Yeah, definitely.

<Mr.

Robert> Do you think I could come with you?

(Gabe stuttering) <Mr.

Robert> You and me are going to best friends... (Mr. Robert/Robot whirring down) (Robot shuts down) <Robot> Unauthorized demotion.

Recalibrating.

(Robot whirring) ♪ soft music ♪ <Gabe> Traveling for a job opportunity for a better life was common for our ancestors, and still common for us, too.

Corporate relocations are the reason more than a third of people move.

Technology has made it easier to travel year-round while you work thanks to a rise in remote work.

Many have been using this opportunity to travel all over the country, and even the world.

Although for some, there's just no place like home.

Working from your house might seem like a new concept, but it used to be fairly normal.

Even during the 1800s, almost half of the labor force worked from home.

(fork chinking) ♪ soft music continues ♪ But there's no denying that work looks a lot different now compared to then, with more choices than ever before.

What hasn't changed is our ability to create meaningful labor, and an opportunity of bounds in America.

(computer dinging) The pursuit of happiness takes action and determination, but it's necessary in order to have a better life not just for ourselves, but for those around us as well.

♪ ♪ country music ♪ ♪ ♪ voices harmonizing indistinctly ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the hammer killed John Henry ♪ ♪ Laid him low, laid him low ♪ ♪ This is the hammer killed John Henry ♪ ♪ Laid him low, laid him low ♪ ♪ ♪ (voices harmonizing indistinctly) ♪ ♪ ♪ country music continues ♪ ♪ ♪ If you hear that (indistinct) howling ♪ ♪ It's gonna rain, gonna rain ♪ ♪ If you hear that (indistinct) howling ♪ ♪ It's gonna rain, gonna rain ♪ ♪ voices harmonizing indistinctly ♪ ♪ ♪ country music continues ♪ ♪ ♪ Hammer hammer killed my brother ♪ ♪ Don't kill me, don't kill me ♪ ♪ Hammer hammer, killed my brother ♪ ♪ Don't kill me, don't kill me ♪ ♪ song ends ♪ ♪ closing music ♪ ♪ ♪ music continues ♪ <Gabe> Reconnect with us at reconnectingroots.com, where you can check out blogs, extra videos, behind the scenes, music, podcasts, and more.

♪ ♪ upbeat country music ♪ ♪ >> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following.

RPC.

♪ soft music ♪ ♪ Plain Values, a magazine on a mission to find joy in the simple things.

♪ Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness sake.

♪ Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul, and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

♪ Sharing a common passion from music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots."

♪ At TowHaul, we value the creativity and hard work that built this country, and improves our lives by supporting education towards careers in manufacturing and the trades.

TowHaul, proud sponsor of "Reconnecting Roots," and public television.

♪ delicate music ♪ ♪