LIFE AFTER REDUNDANCE
1 took it because at that time it seemed to be the thing to do."
Attitudes towards the counselling service were generally favourable, given that they only required financial advice. The redundancy benefits available to the men in both groups were of course much more generous than those available to most other groups of industrial workers who have lost their jobs in the 1980*s.
In the works group the lump sum payments paid to these men varied from £8,500 [Henry TrevettJ to £17,000 [Tom Hodgson].c&1 The median total was £13,700 for an average working life at B.S.C. of 27.7 years. On top of the 80's/90's average all the men had a basic B.S.C. pension of 20.25 a week, plus for two men £68 per week disability pension. For the five men who only have the B.S.C. pension, two having working wives and one has reached pensionable age, so only two couples the Steeles and the Atkins will experience a short period of financial stringency [ six months and one year as of 30/05/87J.
Of the six homeowners in this group, four own their houses outright and the other two are 'nearly there'. For tax reasons lump sum payments were not used to pay these mortgages off. The money has been used in all cases for items of major expenditure tone caravan, two cars,
two video recorders, three deep ireezesJ and ior improvements to the home I decorating, double glazing, kitchen improvements and in one case central heating]. The remaining money has been invested, without exception, in building societies.
The benefits available to the staff group were slightly higher than those available.to the works group, varying from £7,000 LLen HoiroydJ to £27,000 [Terry White] averaging out at £15,300 for a mean service length of 29.5 years. All the men in this group were homeowners and five of the seven had paid off their mortgages prior to redundancy. In only one case, the Lawsons, is the post redundant/pre retirement at 60/65, phase maked by a degree of financial stringency. As with the works group, some of this money was used for items of major expenditure [including two new cars] such as purchases for the home and home improvements. Again, without exception, the remainder is invested in building societies.
One direct consequence of redundancy was to increase the numbers of pooled systems, where the wives and husbands shared bank accounts and drew out money when required. In one case, the Lawsons money was still allocated to Brenda by Henry in the form of housekeeping money. The one mixed system was that of the Adams's where Francis took care of the major bills and Mary retained responsibility for day to day domestic financial management.
Redundancy and unemployment/early retirement has not led to the
pauperisation of any of these men or women. This goes someway to
explaining their largely pro-active responses to the job loss of the principal breadwinner. These responses are discussed next.
IV : 10 : 2 Filling Time and Domestic Divisions of Labour after Redundancy.
The decision to take redundancy was with all 14 couples a joint decision, reflecting the 1 team' nature of most of these families prior to redundancy. Most of the women felt that early retirement would be a good thing as Alice Hodgson and Vera Butcher recalled:
" We talked and talked and talked and i t h o u g h t W e l l I'd rather him be at home with me, than going to work, not being happy and anything happening'Cj I mean the girls are married, we're on us own so we've
just two to think about, so, you know we decided we'd be better off him raking his redundancy. "
" Ve worked it all out and 1 think if we hadn't come to some sort of living figure Arthur would have started working but we knew, we knew we wouldn't want sort of expensive holidays and things like that, but we could live on it and as there was no children to provide for and it was better than him working under stress which he was doing all the rime."
No-one has passed through a phasic sequence of responses to redundancy. All the men have in general been able to adapt themselves to their new circumstances although this has proved to be more difficult for those in the staff group, reflecting their more expressive attitude
towards work discussed earlier. Terry White's comments typified the
" 1 enjoyed the work and I sometimes miss the involvement, you sometimes ieel life's passing you by a bit and you're not involved in things and 1 don't like that. I used to like, you know, the works, something happening, when you walked through the works and everything's go, go, go, 1 used to enjoy that, I miss that a bit.You feel you're on the side lines a little bit and I'm not quite ready for that yet L] sometimes you feel you'd like to be more involved, if someone said, you know,'We need a Marketing Manager, three days a week, would you like to help out?' I'd jump at it. I wouldn't like to be tied up full-time though, 1 value the freedom to say 'Right we're going off to somewhere today'."
Redundancy has not been followed by increased tensions between spouses. In only one case, the Philips ithe least family centred prior to redundancy] has this led to some difficulties as Ann recalled:
"I think we get on alright, as I say initially when he first stopped I had to be careful how 1 spoke and what I did, keep myself busy. . . he was winding down wasn't he? I didn't want to be what you cail naggy, that sort of thing, you know. You need to have time to unwind, it takes a while to do it. You come to a sudden stop and your mind is still active, isn't it, it's all wound up, so you've got to unwind easily, you don't want somebody nagging you, do you?"
For the reminder, although professing to miss workmates at B.S.C., early retirement was perceived to be a good thing.
Henry Trevett :
"i've missed one or two o' t*lads,Li especially t'lad who worked on t'next machine, well I worked on a machine and he worked on there and we used to have a joke together and a laugh together Ei but I've not missed a right lot about work to be honest wi' you Ei because 1 never enjoyed my jobs very much. Li Jobs to me were like, pure and simply mercenary, going and earning some money, you know, and the more I earned the better because it made your life at home, better, so I've not missed owt about work at all."
Ken Murphy :
"Ei for a while I missed the comradeship, of meeting chaps who've
got a similar outlook to yourself and chatting and
putting...generally putting the world to rights but it's only very, very minor, Li I think probably you could say comradeship's the only thing that I've missed, but of course, it goes without saying that my wife and family are more important to me than the chaps that I work with, so it doesn't really worry me at all."
On the original questionnaire sent to these men 6 had put 'registered unemployed' under 'Present Circumstances' although they all now describe themselves as early retirers. The shift in self definition has resulted from the realisation that they are unlikely to work again and it provides them with an acceptable social role and identity than might a self definition of 'unemployed'. This renegotiation was not without problems as Bert Gregory recalled:
" i hadn' t put dawn as retired simply because well I think oi mys e n as retired but you can't really say that you're retired. In fact jokingly there's many a time on certain things that you see and put down, I do put down retired which seems a little bit ridiculous because you always think of yourself as being a young man because you don't feel any different. Obviously you look at a grey-haired old chap, and that's exactly what he is. As far as my own carry on, I consider myself retired. That's what I said when 1 took redundancy, 1 said 'Veil that's me finished', 1 couldn't possibly think about seeing me getting a job even if I wanted one because it's been what i've said all along that there's no work for anyone over thirty-five or forty with no real skills."
Having entered this latter stage in the life courses there has been a convergence oi the individual life courses oi the men and women in these groups. Although traditional families in many respects, with work in and outside the home quite segregated it is clear that in the aftermath of redundancy divisions of labour within the home have been renegotiated, although the extent of this change has varied.
Typical of the works group was George Steele, whose wife Jean still works:
" Weil, Jean said that I took over L LJ but I don't think I have,
I'll do shopping and I'll dust and hoover like. I even do the
washing now...all you have to do is stick it in the washing machine, switch it on and.it's done and dusted. If it's a nice day i'll put them out to dry- L ] one thing I won't do is the ironing that's still her j ob. "
In contrast to life prior to redundancy, the women supported this impression, that their men were doing more work in and around tne house. Alice Hodgson :
"It's amazing really when I think how he used to be...er...he's very thorough really, we take it in turns to do particular jobs, like cleaning and dusting, he'd even hang the washing out with me now, he wouldn't have been seen dead doing that a few years ago [LI."
A similar situation, with the partial exception of the Philips,
existed in the Staff group. Doreen Ho'lroyd:
" He does a iot more, he'll vacuum through, he always makes the kitchen ever so tidy and he always ticks me off for leaving stuff about. I have a laugh about that when 1 think what I used to say to him, it's funny how the tables have turned, but he still won't do the washing though he says he would,LJ basically he vacuums through, wash up, get his own meals ready, he would do the outside windows if we didn't have a window cleaner [] he's a lot more considerate now, he's come really good, he's a lot more thoughtful. I think a lot of men could have something like that happen, when they do realise...I mean, 1 said to him when he first became redundant, I said ' If you're in the house all week you can do your bit', but he's really come up trumps now, he'll even do the shopping which he would never hdvp dPftp I.ph yewTP wgp N hp!!= g:eTtih£- thPUghff Ul wT-pUnd the house, especially the way it looks, he must have gone round with his eyes shut before."
Henry ana Brenda Lawson i3rd interview]
Brenda; "Li he does do more, a lot more. I supposed. .. er. .. you always used to help though...when he wasn't working, except for the ironing of course CL]."
Henry: " Mmm, it's never bothered me at all that... er. .. like some men I know couldn't boil an egg but I've always helped when I can and I enjoy cooking and gardening and what have you, so as I'm at home a lot more it doesn't seem right to let Brenda do it all [] I don't do a lot of washing, but she'll get on with that whilst I vacuum round and sweep up outside."
Several made interesting observations about the relative affluence they had now achieved when compared to the poverty oi their childhoods
and early married lives. With only two couples,the Watsons' and
Gregorys' having working children living at home, a further financial and emotional burden had been lifted. One consequence of this was a high degree of interaction with their children and grandchildren and offering financial support to them.
Maintaining a sense of routine was something that assumed a greater significance in the post redundant phase, in a world without work relatea goals and activities. What had previously been seen as leisure activities [gardening, allotment work, painting and decorating, wine and beer making, D.I.Y. etc.I now assumed a greater importance as work in their own right. Many of the men described such activities as 'work'. All the men professed to watching more television, listening to the radio more and reading books more.
Only Tad Phillips haa been unable 10 adjust 1 0 this new situation,
as he recalled:
" i miss the routine. 1 miss the discipline of having to get up and going to work and coming home. I think, I don't think I've eaten as well, you know. I've lost my appetite. I'm very sort of lethargic. It's difficult to motivate yourself. You know things have got to be done, but I'm normally an active person. I'm normally energetic and normally 1 get stuck into things. I've done a lot of work at our Glynn's bungalow up at Ravenfieid 13 It's an occupation, something to do with my time, and I've looked forward to it in many other ways, you know. it’s been hard work and it's been back-breaking, but 1 enjoy it."
The rest howrever like Terry Vhite and Arthur Butcher preferred their new life style:
" I never have enough time now, this is one of the amazing things I find. 1 tnink you slow up of course, you take a lot of time. 1 just wonder how on earth 1 used to paint my house when I was working. I suppose i just used to do it in the evening you know about ten o ’clock or something and now I sit back and watch telly or something. ho I don't find it a problem."
" Veil, I'd say a good effect, we...er, I feel happier in meseif, I'm not committed to doing anything I don't want to...er... and this of course has rubbed off on Vera because I'm happier... er. ..we're in a situation where we can see our sons and daughters, who are spread throughout the country, more easily and more often."
By the time oi the third interviews it was clear that all the men and women in this group, with the partial exception of the Philips, had come to terms with their new situations. Given their strong sense of care oi and responsibility towards their families, the men have readapted and become more involved in household duties. The wives experienced little disruption and were ail, except for Ann Philips, were adamant that their husbands did do more work around the house. Their general lack of attachment to work/politics/religion outside of family life is reflected in their continuing involvement in the lives of their children and grandchildren. Redundancy in short has proved to be relatively unproblematic for the men and women in the two over 55* s groups, in spite of a greater degree of attachment to work amongst the staff group. Bert Gregory , who had some difficulties in readjusting to a life without work at first did, 1 think, capture the mood of these couples well:
" I'm taking it easier aye. 1 just take things at an easy pace now than what 1 used to. Ve're enjoying life and we're happy just as we are today, we know that t*children are alright, they've grown up now and they can get on with it and we're comfortable L3 we do what we like now t3."
IV : 10 : 3 The Children.
When compared with the position oi the children of the under 55's, the situation laced by the over 55's is relatively unproblematic. As was noted earlier, ail except one of Eric Watson's sons and one of Henry Trevett's children are in employment, or married to someone in full-time employment. Significantly, there is clear evidence of upward mobility amongst the sons and daughters of the works group. It reflects a desire expressed by all the parents in this group, with the exception of the Watsons to push their children at home and at school to 'do
something better'. The memories of their own childhoods played a
significant role in this. Also, in contrast to their parents'
generation, gender seemed to make little difference. Figure 11
[overleaf] contrasts their children's occupation with the last occupation oi the male breadwinners' in this group [ Decemberi985I