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165 reviews for:
On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane
Emily Guendelsberger
4.28 AVERAGE
165 reviews for:
On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane
Emily Guendelsberger
4.28 AVERAGE
There is not a single person I would not recommend this to.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Taught me a lot about something I didn't know much about. More than a journal of three jobs. And funny at times, powerful at others -- especially the conclusion.
Really well done and highly recommended. This is very much a riff on Barbara Ehrenreich's [b:Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America|1869|Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting by in America|Barbara Ehrenreich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442378091l/1869._SY75_.jpg|1840613], quite openly so, but the writer's specific theme is the way the technology of surveillance, algorithmic predictions and computer-driven micromanagement is making today's low-wage jobs more psychologically and physically damaging. Guendelsberger takes jobs at an Amazon warehouse, an outsourced AT&T call center, and a busy city McDonalds and writes about her experiences and the people she worked with. She's funny and compassionate and intersperses research about today's economy and the psychology and sociology of work and stress in an accessible way - you really get both a personal story told with personality and a sharp analysis of what most people have to deal with at work. If you've never worked a customer-service or blue-collar job, or if you haven't in a long time, check this book out.
Super duper demoralizing, but so much worth reading.
What are we doing? What the fuck are we doing?
Frankly, this is Nickel and Dimed for the late 2010's.
What are we doing? What the fuck are we doing?
Frankly, this is Nickel and Dimed for the late 2010's.
Fantastic look at low-wage jobs, and how mentally and physically demanding they can be, while at the same time being so micro-managed that the workers have no control or input. Exactly the sort of soul-sucking awfulness that creates depression and other mental health crises. The quotes from turn of the century efficiency experts (to the tune of "well, I could not ever work such a terribly monotonous job, because I'm special, but obviously all of these poor people really love it because they're clearly inferior!") sound like they could be coming from modern CEO's.
While at first I didn't love the first person present tense of some of the book, I changed my mind halfway through, as it did help to create a specific mood and tone. I thought the author did a great job of managing to make the book very personal - how the work was affecting her specifically - without turning it into a maudlin account of her personal life. She also made sure to interview people for whom this is their permanent job to get the perspectives of people who don't hate it the way the many, many, many people who quit hate it.
While at first I didn't love the first person present tense of some of the book, I changed my mind halfway through, as it did help to create a specific mood and tone. I thought the author did a great job of managing to make the book very personal - how the work was affecting her specifically - without turning it into a maudlin account of her personal life. She also made sure to interview people for whom this is their permanent job to get the perspectives of people who don't hate it the way the many, many, many people who quit hate it.