Work

Tasks were assigned according to gender and age; men were usually the hunters, and women the collectors. Around 8000 years ago, humans started cultivating crops and keeping livestock. As technology improved they cleared trees and shrubs for agriculture and irrigated land near rivers. People increasingly chose to live permanently at one location, and this led to the emergence of specialised trades, crafts and roles. The development of fuel-driven machinery around 1870 brought industrialisation to the Netherlands. Working life became increasingly structured, with production processes divided into series of steps. The arrival of silicon chips and computers heralded the post-industrial era, with machines taking over tasks previously performed by humans. This lead to a gradual shift towards the service sectors.