Though I don’t think Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenrecich is a book that everybody reads and has the same take aways from. Though I think everyone can take something away for this book. Whether you’re a upper class socialite and you just get a better understanding of the people that are a lower socioeconomic status and how they live their lives; or maybe you are one of the people the book talks about your take away could be that some of the people of higher SES understand what your going though. In my opinion these are the very minimum things people could take away from Ehrenreich’s book. I think this was her intent, to give everyone a view of the different lifestyles we all live, and how hard it is for some to barley scrap by. As a teacher I think it is important to realize that I will have students coming from all different backgrounds. Some of these students will have parents that are in working conditions that are mentioned in the book. The parent may not be able to afford new school supplies, possibly the parent can’t afford to take time off to go to a Conference Night or even to spend time doing homework with the student. In a perfect world this wouldn’t be true, as a teacher, I must realize that I have a responsibility to the student and ultimately the parent to do my best to accommodate their needs.
Question 12
How does mangers’ scrutiny- “time theft” crackdowns and drug testing – effect workers’ morale? How can American companies make the workplace environment safe and efficient without treating employees like suspected criminals?
For some reason this question stood out at me the most. I think it is because I have held three separate jobs my entire life and the only one I disliked was the only that had me do a drug test.
Over the summer I got a second job, I was working 40 hours a week at my first job and only worked nights. I need something to do with my time in the mornings. So I thought it would be a great idea to get a second job and save money up for classes. I applied many different places and it took a while but I finally got a job at a grocery store. The interview went well and they gave me a form to take to a drug testing facility. At first I thought nothing of it but when I started to work there I began to question the necessity. I was the opener, I came three mornings a week from 6:45 to 3 and then went to my first job from 3:30 to 11. It was generally very slow, especially for the cashiers up front. One day I tried to take the initiative to do some extra work. I decided to clean up the register aisles. I was sorting candy bars back into their proper place when my manger noticed me. She came over and asked why I was doing this. “I didn’t tell you to.” She kept repeating. It was then I realized that I wasn’t meant to think I was meant to do.
If they had noticed that I had gone out of my way to make the store nicer, if they had aloud me to take some pride in my job I would have stayed. Besides the occasional grumpy customer it was fine, the co-workers were nice and the location was a minutes from my house. But them not wanting me to think made me realize why they wanted to drug test their employees, or at least partially.
I feel that they just want drones. They don’t want to worry about employees using drugs and affecting their work. Though I think a drug test isn’t very affective. If someone is going to go out and look for a job, they generally know that a drug test is around the corner so they simple stop using for a little while. When mangers treat their employees like… property rather than people it makes it hard to work there.
If management looks at there employees as people and accepts that they are able to do things with out being micromanaged. It makes the workplace a lot better. If the majority of american companies adopted this policy I believe they would have an easier time managing their employees. I think this because the employees would have a greater respect for their bosses. Having a sense of pride for your job does wonders to the work ethic. This has to be shown by both the employer and the the employee.
My Thoughts of Rebecca's Response.
My Thoughts of Ashely's Response.
Question 12
How does mangers’ scrutiny- “time theft” crackdowns and drug testing – effect workers’ morale? How can American companies make the workplace environment safe and efficient without treating employees like suspected criminals?
For some reason this question stood out at me the most. I think it is because I have held three separate jobs my entire life and the only one I disliked was the only that had me do a drug test.
Over the summer I got a second job, I was working 40 hours a week at my first job and only worked nights. I need something to do with my time in the mornings. So I thought it would be a great idea to get a second job and save money up for classes. I applied many different places and it took a while but I finally got a job at a grocery store. The interview went well and they gave me a form to take to a drug testing facility. At first I thought nothing of it but when I started to work there I began to question the necessity. I was the opener, I came three mornings a week from 6:45 to 3 and then went to my first job from 3:30 to 11. It was generally very slow, especially for the cashiers up front. One day I tried to take the initiative to do some extra work. I decided to clean up the register aisles. I was sorting candy bars back into their proper place when my manger noticed me. She came over and asked why I was doing this. “I didn’t tell you to.” She kept repeating. It was then I realized that I wasn’t meant to think I was meant to do.
If they had noticed that I had gone out of my way to make the store nicer, if they had aloud me to take some pride in my job I would have stayed. Besides the occasional grumpy customer it was fine, the co-workers were nice and the location was a minutes from my house. But them not wanting me to think made me realize why they wanted to drug test their employees, or at least partially.
I feel that they just want drones. They don’t want to worry about employees using drugs and affecting their work. Though I think a drug test isn’t very affective. If someone is going to go out and look for a job, they generally know that a drug test is around the corner so they simple stop using for a little while. When mangers treat their employees like… property rather than people it makes it hard to work there.
If management looks at there employees as people and accepts that they are able to do things with out being micromanaged. It makes the workplace a lot better. If the majority of american companies adopted this policy I believe they would have an easier time managing their employees. I think this because the employees would have a greater respect for their bosses. Having a sense of pride for your job does wonders to the work ethic. This has to be shown by both the employer and the the employee.
My Thoughts of Rebecca's Response.
My Thoughts of Ashely's Response.