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Contents on this page were published in the June, 1993 edition of the Washington Free Press.
WFP, 1463 E. Republican #178, Seattle, WA -USA, 98112. -- WAfreepress@gmail.com
Copyright © 1993 WFP Collective, Inc.
OF AND
RELATING TO
LABOR
Fast-food restaurants are initiation halls where our nation's youth come to look upon themselves as replaceable human cogs, where employee turnover is not only a way of life, but a spiritual principle.
In other workplaces too, your co-workers might seem distant, strange or even dippy - not the types you would invite out for a drink after quitting time. And when you hear your company is arranging some sort of "social event," you might start to plan what illness you will come down with on that day.
Such feelings are quite expected, because many employers don't really want you to make deep social connections with your co-workers. Certainly, many workplaces in the U.S. are more anti-social than a gang of teenage vandals.
Some large retailers have an anti-social policy of not allowing the same employees to work together on the same shift for extended periods of time (probably as a means of preventing unionization).
A quick look around Puget Sound reveals a few more of the many ways that certain employment and business practices have become tools for discouraging the establishment of friendships.
Consider job security. Employees are bound to become competitive bootlickers if there is no job security, simply to avoid being the one who gets laid off. Such an environment is fertile ground for backstabbing, superficial chatter - anything but true friendship.
The way the workday is scheduled is also a powerful influence. In most countries, all business shuts down at lunchtime. People almost always eat together. Relaxing and informally eating lunch with the colleagues of your choice is a great way to ease the desire to stab one another in the back.
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Employees are bound to become competitive bootlickers if there is no job security, simply to avoid being the one who gets laid off.
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"We're paid according to our total clock time," the engineer said, "so instead of taking a break, people like to pick up a sandwich in the cafeteria and bring it back to their desks, working and eating at the same time. I can leave work earlier that way."
American companies, always on the cutting edge, have thus invented the modern social trend of working/eating.
Another modern concept, shift work, has been praised by corporate pundits as the wave of the future and the key to international economic competitiveness. However, in addition to cramping your biorhythms, working the night shift can cramp your social life.
First of all, night work eliminates many of the normal opportunities for socializing outside work, such as going to evening shows or sleeping with your partner. It can also hinder your relationships on the job.
One Seattle nurse, working in a downtown hospital, commented on the difficulty of getting to know colleagues on the late shift. "Most people sleep during the breaks, so you never really get a chance to talk to each other, other than exchanging a few sentences."
This nurse added that, due to recent attempts to save money at hospitals, fewer nurses are employed on all shifts. The result is that break time is often spent alone, while the other nurses "cover" the nurse taking a break.
The economic costs of an anti-social workplace are great, but hard to quantify. If employees have little opportunity to communicate, or if they are placed in competition with one another, they won't be able to coordinate tasks or share experiences. The quality of work declines, even though people may appear busier.
Another cost is that employees will be paid less and treated less fairly. When employees don't know each other well, they will not be as likely to unionize or to voice concerns to existing unions. You cannot have grassroots activism without the roots.
To solve the problem of antisociality, workers and unions can keep three simple goals in mind:
If you have gripes about your workplace, send them to Doug Collins c/o The Washington Free Press, 1463 E. Republican, Suite 178, Seattle 98112. Please include your phone number. Your identity will be kept confidential in any published report, unless you request otherwise.
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