Post by robcaudill on Aug 9, 2011 12:21:53 GMT -5
Going in, I had the feeling that “Nickel and Dimed” was going to be one of the more interesting books I had ever had to read for summer reading. I was totally correct in this assumption. It was in fact a fascinating look into the lives of working class Americans, and it has stuck with me. It is simply amazing to me that we as a society chastise those who work in low wage jobs, but in reality we have no idea how difficult and demanding those jobs prove to be.
In this book, Barbara Ehrenreich says, “The first thing I discovered is that no job, no matter how lowly, is truly ‘unskilled’. Every one of the six jobs I entered into in the course of this project required concentration, and most demanded that I master new terms, new tools, and new skills – from placing orders on restaurant computers to wielding the backpack vacuum cleaner.” While it is easy for those of us who lead a life where all of our basic necessities are consistently met and frequently exceeded to look down on the worker who operates a restaurant computer or uses a vacuum cleaner to make their living, perhaps we should think twice. Even with her Ph.D. and years of experience in the professional field, Ehrenreich was not prepared for these jobs that we would consider “unskilled”. If a woman with a doctorate finds these blue collar jobs challenging, how could we possibly ever consider them unimportant or unskilled?
Throughout the book, the author seems continually perplexed as to how the individuals she meets are able to provide for themselves and put up with the degradation they are constantly receiving. The answer to her quandary is really very simple: these individuals don’t have another choice. Their lives literally depend on their meager incomes and depressing work environments. So many people living in poverty are barely able to make ends meet, and they lead seemingly very sad lives. But they do it every day because they don’t have any other options. These people are frequently not even rewarded for exceptional work performance. Enrenreich states that while working at Walmart, she was warned by a fellow employee that, “the more they think you can do, the more they’ll use you and abuse you.” The author states that the person who gave her this advice was not lazy; rather, she understood that there are few or no rewards for heroic job performance. It seems to me as though this would make it even more difficult for one to achieve and attempt to improve.
This was a very enlightening book. It really made me think about that person behind the McDonald’s counter, or the woman who has cleaned for my family for 19 years. How do they really feel about what is going on in their job and around them? At one point I may have been quick to consider them less intelligent or less skilled than I am, but do I even know how to operate a vacuum cleaner? Would it be possible for me to stand at a drive thru window taking orders and money, AND trying to keep straight which order is coming by the window next? After some analysis, I have to say I think the “unskilled” worker is just as “skilled” as I am.
In this book, Barbara Ehrenreich says, “The first thing I discovered is that no job, no matter how lowly, is truly ‘unskilled’. Every one of the six jobs I entered into in the course of this project required concentration, and most demanded that I master new terms, new tools, and new skills – from placing orders on restaurant computers to wielding the backpack vacuum cleaner.” While it is easy for those of us who lead a life where all of our basic necessities are consistently met and frequently exceeded to look down on the worker who operates a restaurant computer or uses a vacuum cleaner to make their living, perhaps we should think twice. Even with her Ph.D. and years of experience in the professional field, Ehrenreich was not prepared for these jobs that we would consider “unskilled”. If a woman with a doctorate finds these blue collar jobs challenging, how could we possibly ever consider them unimportant or unskilled?
Throughout the book, the author seems continually perplexed as to how the individuals she meets are able to provide for themselves and put up with the degradation they are constantly receiving. The answer to her quandary is really very simple: these individuals don’t have another choice. Their lives literally depend on their meager incomes and depressing work environments. So many people living in poverty are barely able to make ends meet, and they lead seemingly very sad lives. But they do it every day because they don’t have any other options. These people are frequently not even rewarded for exceptional work performance. Enrenreich states that while working at Walmart, she was warned by a fellow employee that, “the more they think you can do, the more they’ll use you and abuse you.” The author states that the person who gave her this advice was not lazy; rather, she understood that there are few or no rewards for heroic job performance. It seems to me as though this would make it even more difficult for one to achieve and attempt to improve.
This was a very enlightening book. It really made me think about that person behind the McDonald’s counter, or the woman who has cleaned for my family for 19 years. How do they really feel about what is going on in their job and around them? At one point I may have been quick to consider them less intelligent or less skilled than I am, but do I even know how to operate a vacuum cleaner? Would it be possible for me to stand at a drive thru window taking orders and money, AND trying to keep straight which order is coming by the window next? After some analysis, I have to say I think the “unskilled” worker is just as “skilled” as I am.