A long day in the factory Many new factories were built during Victoria's reign. The factory owners employed a lot of workers, but they paid them very little money and made them work long hours. They wanted their expensive new machines to run all day long, only stopping for major repairs. In this way the factory owners could make many products for very little money. Much of the production was then exported, and the factory owners made large profits. The workers' lives were miserable. They had to get up at dawn and returned exhausted at night. They had to work for 12 or 14 hours a day with very few breaks. Their work was boring and dangerous. There were no guards or fences around the machines to prevent accidents from happening. The workers did not complain. There were plenty of unemployed people who would take their jobs if they were sacked.