Title: Industrialization, Labor, and Life  | National Geographic Society
Headings: Industrialization, Labor, and Life
Industrialization, Labor, and Life
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Content: As countries industrialized, factories became larger and produced more goods. Larger companies that were able to achieve economies of scale did better in international trade. Earlier forms of work began to disappear. Perhaps the most harmful consequences of industrialization were those affecting families. Before industrialization, families served both social and economic purposes. Married couples and their children often worked together in farms or shops. In 18 th -century Great Britain, women and men often worked in their homes doing jobs such as spinning wool into textiles and weaving textiles into cloth. They then sold their products in a system that was called the "putting-out" or domestic system. However, the rise of factories meant that most male workers no longer worked at home. Some men left their families behind for jobs in the city.