On the clock : what low-wage work did to me and how it drives America insane

Title:

Author:

Guendelsberger, Emily, author.

Personal Author:

Guendelsberger, Emily, author.

ISBN:

9780316509008

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

xi, 335 pages : illustration ; 25 cm

Contents:

Introduction: In the weeds -- Amazon -- Convergys -- McDonald's -- Conclusion: Out of the weeds.

Abstract:

A college-educated young professional details the grueling realities of hourly labor for the fastest-growing segment of the American workforce while outlining strategies for more humane employment practices.

When Guendelsberger took a pre-Christmas job at an Amazon fulfillment center outside Louisville, Kentucky, the vending machines were stocked with painkillers, and the staff turnover was dizzying. In the new year she traveled to North Carolina to work at a call center, a place where even bathroom breaks were timed to the second. Then she was hired at a San Francisco McDonald's, narrowly escaping revenge-seeking customers who pelted her with condiments. Here she takes us behind the scenes of the fastest-growing segment of the American workforce to understand how workers went from being the most expensive element of production to the cheapest-- and how low wage jobs have been remade to serve the ideals of efficiency, at the cost of humanity. -- adapted from jacket

Personal Subject:

Guendelsberger, Emily.

Subject Term:

Minimum wage.

Unskilled labor.

Working class.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

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Summary

" Nickel and Dimed for the Amazon age," (Salon) the bitingly funny, eye-opening story of finding work in the automated and time-starved world of hourly low-wage labor
After the local newspaper where she worked as a reporter closed, Emily Guendelsberger took a pre-Christmas job at an Amazon fulfillment center outside Louisville, Kentucky. There, the vending machines were stocked with painkillers, and the staff turnover was dizzying. In the new year, she travelled to North Carolina to work at a call center, a place where even bathroom breaks were timed to the second. And finally, Guendelsberger was hired at a San Francisco McDonald's, narrowly escaping revenge-seeking customers who pelted her with condiments.

Across three jobs, and in three different parts of the country, Guendelsberger directly took part in the revolution changing the U.S. workplace. Offering an up-close portrait of America's actual "essential workers," On the Clock examines the broken social safety net as well as an economy that has purposely had all the slack drained out and converted to profit. Until robots pack boxes, resolve billing issues, and make fast food, human beings supervised by AI will continue to get the job done. Guendelsberger shows us how workers went from being the most expensive element of production to the cheapest - and how low wage jobs have been remade to serve the ideals of efficiency, at the cost of humanity.

On the Clock explores the lengths that half of Americans will go to in order to make a living, offering not only a better understanding of the modern workplace, but also surprising solutions to make work more humane for millions of Americans.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A young journalist's account of her experiences working low-wage jobs in Kentucky, North Carolina, and California over a two-year period.When Guendelsberger lost her newspaper job in 2015, she decided to get "in the weeds" with millions of blue-collar Americans working in the service sector. Her odyssey began in Louisville, where she found seasonal work at Amazon. For two months, she walked 15 to 20 miles per day finding warehouse merchandise to fulfill online orders. The scanning gun she used to record each item also served as a countdown device to keep her perpetually on-task, and vending machines sold pain relievers for the raging body aches that came with the work. Turnover rates verged on astronomical, and while those who stayed claimed to love their job, they also called it "oppressive." The following summer, Guendelsberger headed to Hickory, North Carolina, where she took a job with Convergys, where she handled a high volume of telephone traffic while trying to avoid becoming the target of verbally abusive clients. As had been the case at Amazon, all breaks were timed down to the second, and any deviation was considered a form of theft. The author then went to work at a McDonald's in downtown San Francisco. Due to that city's efforts to increase minimum wage, her wages were "twice as much as the average McDonald's crew member," which ultimately meant little in one of the most expensive cities in America. At the mercy of a changeable work schedule, Guendelsberger dealt with never-ending lines of demanding customers every day, the worst of whom threw food at her. Detailed, intelligent, and well-researched, the book provides a sobering look at the inhuman world of blue-collar work while suggesting that creation of a better world starts by connecting to others who also believe "the status quo is cruel and ridiculous."An eye-opening, unrelenting expos that uncovers the brutal wages of modern global capitalism. A natural choice for fans of Nickel and Dimed. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.