Struggles Of The Working Class During The Victorian Era

The Victorian Era was a time when England began to experience industrial advancements in cities, in addition to a noticeable surge in businesses and in the overall economy. The increase in production of goods resulted in the increase of the middle class. The thriving economy invited a numerous amount of businessmen and entrepreneurs seeking success in their fields. However, many dangerous and problematic aspects arose from the intensive labor carried out by workers due to rapid advancements occurring in the country. In all, the various problems that the working class faced paved the way for the improvement of British society by addressing health concerns and inadequate working environments in the workplace. As a whole, workers encountered numerous issues regarding health concerns due to toxic environments inside workplaces. Long, labor-intensive hours were spent in large and unsanitary factories, workhouses, and workshops. This proved to negatively affect the health of workers, as according to the “U. S. National Library of Medicine”, spending many hours a day in such hazardous environments resulted in widespread deaths of workers, the causes resembling some diseases that are present in third world countries of today. These diseases include mass infant and mother mortality, infections of many types, and heart failure. As Britain further industrialized, most of these diseases became curable, resulting in death rates slowly decreasing as time progressed. Other health concerns arose, such as lack of proper nutrition. The primary source article, “The New Casual Ward at the Marylebone Workhouse” illustrates how within the workhouse, workers were given just enough food to merely survive. In addition, the small quantity of food they were given possessed small amounts of nutrition. As this issue began to affect the overall productivity for output of goods, British factories began to set in place standard health and safety standards in workhouses to ensure the fair treatment of factory workers. Lack of proper nutrition was also combatted as England sought agricultural advancement introducing crop rotation systems.

According to the British Library author Liza Picard, she points out that these systems made it much easier for workers to obtain healthier, more nutritious foods, as well as gaining food productivity for fresh crops. Within the working class, pipe smoking was an extremely prevalent health concern. The strong presence of tobacco usage among the working class led to future tobacco and cigarette advertisements. Out of all the challenges that the working class faced, the work conditions that workers endured was considered to be a major problematic issue. According to the “U. S. National Library of Medicine”, almost all labor performed by the working class was physically taxing to some degree, an example being that some low-paid workers performed labor requiring them to walk over five miles in total. Furthermore, the working class worked long, strenuous hours. The average time spent working among both genders was between eight and ten hours per week for almost every day of the week. The surge in industrialization and urbanization during the Victorian Era resulted in an increase in workers, as well as a general increase in hard labor that the working class faced. As British society has progressed, working conditions failed to drastically improve in the short term, whereas the economy prospered. Among the working class, there proved to be roughly three tiers of what type of worker you were. BBC History author Donna Loftus describes these tiers as “layers”, the lowest being all laborers, or the working women and men in the factories, the middle being the “intelligent artisan” or more specifically the person who specializes in a certain trade that can earn them a decent living without suffering as a factory worker, and the highest layer being the “educated working man”. The extent of physical labor drastically differed from each category of worker, as the lowest level of the working class suffered the most in terms of physical labor, while the highest level of the working class while still working hard at their trade, suffered much less strenuous physical labor. A good example of the lowest level in the working class are the residents of a British workhouse described in the 1867 primary source article, “Illustrated London News”. The article mentions how this London workhouse served as a residency to many people. In exchange for a place to stay, they all had to perform extremely hard, tedious, and physically taxing labor.

Women spent many hours on their feet performing various tasks, while men were required to lift many heavy objects, walk for miles to complete a task. Children helped operate some machines and complete small tasks in the workplace as well. An example of this is an image depicting two children operating machines in a factory. The image clearly shows how the children are too small to safely operate the machine, which provides insight in the extent of workplace issues. Fortunately, the inadequate environment of workhouses and factories were recognized and dealt with as society advanced. As described by authors for the “U. S. National Library of Medicine” Paul Clayton and Judith Rowbotham, philanthropists and trade unions worked together and separately to try to improve the overall quality of life for workers. The working class of the Victorian Era endured many daily struggles, two of the biggest being health concerns and the atmosphere of workplaces. Among health concerns, issues arose when mortality rates and diseases began to ravage workers, similarly as how the brutal environment of workhouses and factories proved to have negative physical and mental effects on workers. As British society began to develop over many years, working class issues were addressed. Health concerns were addressed by the implementation of crop rotation systems, providing the public with a steady supply of nutrient-rich food, instead of processed foods with little nutritional value. The poor quality of workplaces were addressed as people in authority, advocates for adequate workplaces, and trade unions found ways to drastically improve the wages and quality of life for many people in Britain.