When commentators and policymakers talk about economic opportunity, they often point to the manufacturing sector as an area of promise — one where workers without four-year degrees can enjoy stable, middle-class jobs with good benefits and a secure retirement. 

At the same time, these workers are part of the important work of rejuvenating an industry that is critical to our nation’s security and autonomy. But are manufacturing jobs the good jobs they are made out to be? Will these jobs deliver the wages, benefits, security, and sense of purpose that are often associated with them? Maybe.

The history of manufacturing jobs, of course, is rather grim. One only needs to think back to the unsafe working conditions of the early Industrial Revolution, which inspired some of the writing of Dickens, led to tragedies like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and dangerous labor actions like the Flint sit-down strike. Labor laws and the labor movement led to substantial improvements in manufacturing pay and working conditions, allowing manufacturing work to support a middle-class lifestyle in the post-war period. But labor unions have been in decline since the 1980s, there has been a backlash against the enforcement of business regulations, and globalization has led to the movement of manufacturing to low-cost labor markets. All this means that, while US manufacturing jobs may still generally pay more than low-wage service occupations, they are less likely to support the middle-class lifestyle that they once did.

Some business leaders are coming to understand that just because a manufacturing job pays more than fast food (and even that may not always be true), that does not necessarily mean that it’s a good job. In an interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival, for example, the head of Ford Motor Company described learning that young people couldn’t live on what they were earning at Ford, so they were picking up second jobs and often showing up to work at Ford after only a few hours’ sleep. And to his credit, he decided to do something about it—he recognized, if he wanted his workers to do a good job, they needed to have a good job.

Indeed, manufacturing jobs can be good jobs, but it doesn’t happen automatically. A critical factor is business leaders making the right management and operational choices. In our work at the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, we have had the opportunity to get to know firms that lead in creating good jobs and find that good jobs support their firm’s success. Companies like Marlin Steel in Baltimore illustrate how investing in job quality can strengthen both worker outcomes and business performance, even during what would otherwise be an existential crisis for most companies.

In 2019, we published “Genesis at Work: Evaluating the Effects of Manufacturing Extension on Business Success and Job Quality.” The report examined an approach used by the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) to help companies improve competitiveness by integrating “people” strategies — meant to boost workforce engagement and productivity — into traditional support for production processes and product lines. Looking at 22 participating firms, we found the approach yielded positive outcomes for businesses, such as increased sales and cost savings, and for workers, including higher earnings and reduced turnover.

These findings are particularly important to consider if manufacturers continue to have trouble filling jobs, as was recently reported by NPR, but it is also important to consider if we want a globally competitive manufacturing sector. The results of our study, and the work of a number of other business scholars, demonstrate that improving job quality is not charity, it’s good business. People who don’t need to work a second job can focus on doing their primary job well. These sorts of statements can seem obvious, and yet there are many job design decisions and operational details that can limit the theory from being put into practice. Organizations like IMEC can play a valuable role in providing manufacturers with information, coaching, and support to help business owners invest in job quality improvements in ways that work for their business.

We’re finding similar results in our Shared Success project, which works with local community lenders to advance job quality at their client small businesses in a range of sectors, including manufacturing. For example, in Maine, Shared Success partner Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) helped Blue Ox Malthouse adopt new job quality practices, from improving paid time off policies and scheduling notice to offering a no-cost workplace Roth IRA through the state’s retirement program. CEI also met with employees directly to explain the program and highlight the importance of saving for the future. The experience at Blue Ox illustrates the important role of trusted advisors in strengthening both worker outcomes and business performance. Notably, CEI helped Blue Ox understand how to deploy a state policy initiative intended to encourage retirement savings in a way that works for their business and their employees, demonstrating the value this kind of advising can bring to the success of a range of policy initiatives.

So how can policymakers encourage manufacturing jobs to be good jobs? A good place to start is by supporting the advising infrastructure that small and medium-sized manufacturers need. Organizations like community lenders or manufacturing extension partnerships can play a critical role in reaching small- to medium-sized manufacturers with the information, resources and support they need to achieve their good jobs/good business aspirations. In addition, as policymakers invest in these systems, they should develop performance standards for local organizations that include job quality goals to ensure our investments yield the returns we expect for our economy and society. We can’t assume any manufacturing job will be a good job. But by setting job quality standards and providing information, resources and support, the return of manufacturing jobs can mean the return of jobs that strengthen communities and build a stronger middle class.