"A 1950s employee wasn't subjected to credit or other background checks to get hired, zero-hour contracts weren't around, and neither was the culture of working 60+ hours a week just to keep up appearances."
1950s employees were subject to skin color and gender tests to a much, much greater degree than today.
Further, family structure, church attendance, sexuality ... all of these were fairly stringent tests at that time.
Oh totally, I'm not defending the 1950s, and I'm certainly not defending the social values of that time.
But it seems like the sort of employment insecurity that was heaped on the non straight-male-WASPs has been extended to cover more people rather than eliminated as it should have been.
1950s employees were subject to skin color and gender tests to a much, much greater degree than today.
Further, family structure, church attendance, sexuality ... all of these were fairly stringent tests at that time.