 These close quarters fostered community as well as resentment . Newcomers were mentored by older women in areas such as dress , speech , behavior , and the general ways of the community . Workers often recruited their friends or relatives to the factories , creating a familial atmosphere among many of the rank and file . The Lowell girls were expected to attend church and demonstrate morals befitting proper society . The 1848 Handbook to Lowell proclaimed that " The company will not employ anyone who is habitually absent from public worship on the Sabbath , or known to be guilty of immorality . " 
