Nag, Nag as much as you want!
How many times has someone told you: It’s not only your company that exploits people, it’s all of them but at least you should be grateful that you have a job?
A very simple explanation to why we hear this sentence is that our capitalist societies have normalised abuse and manipulated our feelings specifically when it comes to the feelings of guilt and gratitude. We learn that we need to be grateful, to be thankful for what we have. While this is certainly positive in many instances, the concept of gratefulness is being distorted and directed the wrong way. Often, this feeling will be directed towards the company employing us despite the harsh working conditions. Jobs are, in many instances, portrayed as a privilege, something that was given to you but could be taken away at any point. This creates a sentiment of insecurity which enhances the feeling of gratitude and keeps us docile and quiet.
It is important to note that our feelings are constantly played with in society to benefit people in a position of power. In a capitalist society, the wellbeing of companies is what matters, therefore our feelings will be manipulated to serve those companies and of course their shareholders. We soon enough discover that at any point we might find ourselves unemployed and hence without enough resources to survive. In this case, fear plays differently depending on our social position. For example, a person from a privileged social background (who has multiple sources of revenue or has enough financial capital) might not care at all, whereas a person with no alternative income might effectively experience fear and be at the mercy of their employers. So one must ask, why should we feel grateful for living in a system that exploits and devalues so many of us?
Recently, it has become very clear that our social context reinforces, even more, the feeling of gratitude one may be pushed to express towards their employer. In fact, Covid-19 has become a justification for many waves of abuse and exploitation while highlighting furthermore existing privileges. The pandemic had a major impact on the professional lives of many as an Irish report notes:
“the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered one of the worst jobs crises since the Great Depression and the real danger that the crisis will increase poverty and widen inequalities.” [1]
In fact, people found themselves suddenly jobless and others found themselves being overly exploited by their employer. Women, marginalised groups and front-line workers were even more impacted:
“International and national crises often highlight inequalities in the labor market that disproportionately affect individuals from marginalized backgrounds. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting changes in society due to social distancing measures, has showcased inequities in access to decent work and experiences of discrimination resulting in many of the vulnerable populations in the United States experiencing a much harsher impact on economic and work-related factors.” [2]
Social classes were impacted very differently and it became clear that working from home is a privilege given to those who, first can afford rent, and second to those who aren’t performing any type of fieldwork or essential work.
“Vulnerable workers are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Low-paid workers have been key to ensure the continuation of essential services during lockdowns, often at a substantial risk of exposing themselves to the virus while working. They have also suffered greater job or income losses.” [3]
Not only were essential workers such as cleaners, nurses, grocery store employees etc. highly impacted by the current crisis, but their job is constantly devalued and rendered invisible. This social devaluation affects essential workers around the globe. The work of nurses, cleaners, caretakers, school teachers is generally dismissed, at the expense of doctors, CEOs, engineers etc. But let’s rethink it for a bit:
Who makes sure that the surgical rooms are prepared, safe and sterile, so people don’t die from an infection? Who makes sure that we can still walk on the streets without being surrounded by trash and toxic smells? Who makes sure that we learn how to read and to do maths so we can actually become engineers?
Essential work is rendered invisible not only metaphorically speaking but also literally. In fact, some essential workers such as cleaners, factory workers, online moderators operate usually ‘behind curtains’, at a fast pace, when no one is here to see and acknowledge the work. For example, Amazon workers who make sure our precious packages arrive, work from a hidden stock depot or deliver a package quickly almost without being seen (recently, Amazon started creating ads where they feature their essential and ‘hidden’ workers, funny enough it was after a wave of complaints, however it was merely an orchestrated performance). It is already demonstrated that their working conditions are deplorable and their salary barely enough to make ends meet. As the article from the Business Insider states:
“a picture emerged of gruelling long hours, physical labour, fears about taking time off, workplace injuries, and the pressure to keep the wheels turning, even when the weather is treacherous.” [4]
We have been taught that “hard” work equals having a ‘high’ professional position but what does hard work even mean? Hard work is not only a position that entails intellectual labour but it also concerns emotional and physical labour. However, people who generally perform a type of emotional and/or physical labour are rendered invisible, hidden so their working conditions won’t be questioned. The meaning of hard work is generally being modified to justify social inequalities and privilege. Capitalist societies have taught us a biased meaning of hard work and hence internalised the fact that being underpaid is not exploitation but rather a matter of merit. What we know as
“Meritocracy is used by governments in many societies as an ‘effective’ way to represent social justice and legitimise — explain away — class inequality.” [5]
Being poor is then perceived as a personal choice (‘not having worked hard enough’) our feelings to rebel become then less aggressive and more accepting of the exploitation cycle.
CEOs are often attributed the status of ‘hard workers’ and hence escape the blame when it comes to the questioning of their practices. However, it is quite clear that the gigantic fortune of Amazon’s or Facebook CEOs, for example, is not a result of mere hard work but is a result of a well rounded exploitative system and a multitude of privileges that gave them the opportunities to think, create and get the necessary funds to achieve their project. What is also certain is that their fortune highly depends on the exploitation of their essential workers. Facebook and Google’s essential workers are not only devalued but are mistakenly perceived by the public eye as machines. Content moderators, for example, perform a quite secretive job but nonetheless essential since it mainly prevents people from stumbling upon a decapitation video or other graphic or disturbing content. Despite the graphic nature of the content they are supposed to monitor 8hours per day, moderators (like almost all essential corporate workers) are constantly micro-managed, surveilled, deprived of some basic rights (such as sick leaves and maternity leaves, decent pay) and of course, kept silent when abuses happen.
The abuse that occurs in large companies is not anything new, however, it is important to shed the light on how covid-19 not only made the working conditions more difficult (since essential workers are expected to be physically present in the office) but they are also expected to feel grateful. Grateful to be working and to be part of such ‘cool’ and prolific companies. With the economy collapsing everywhere, social media companies are flourishing and are transforming themselves into factories where workers are hired at an extraordinary pace while also being devalued and misled. In fact, and as a matter of example, Facebook employs around 15,000 content reviewers [5] around the world, while some might be ‘proud’ of performing a job for Facebook, they are misled in the sense where they are employed as contingent workers and hence do not have the same privileges as full-time Facebook employees.
“The use of contract labor also has a practical benefit for Facebook: it is radically cheaper. The median Facebook employee earns $240,000 annually in salary, bonuses, and stock options. A content moderator working for Cognizant in Arizona, on the other hand, will earn just $28,800 per year… it’s a place where, in stark contrast to the perks lavished on Facebook employees, team leaders micromanage content moderators’ every bathroom and prayer break”. [5]
Adding to that, moderators are expected to keep silent about the type of job, about the type of content they watch, about the recruitment process and the poor management.
“All had signed non-disclosure agreements with Cognizant in which they pledged not to discuss their work for Facebook… the secrecy also insulates Cognizant and Facebook from criticism about their working conditions”. [5]
It is quite funny to notice how social media companies and other large corporate entities completely distort their image of a for-profit company into almost a social enterprise. In fact, social media companies and other large corporates are endorsing a new ‘trendy’ image, an image of being fun, cool and embracing diversity [6]. This new image is created to get some sympathy from the public and hence escape criticism. It seems, in part, to be working. Feeling gratitude towards these companies is something that we can notice daily, from the governments around the globe that are protecting them (not taking any major steps to react when abuse is reported), to the people who endorse their image and feel proud of their companies. However, companies fail immensely to recognize and feel gratitude towards their essential workers who carry all the work that is too physically and emotionally demanding without gaining any benefits but merely staying alive.
To complete their ‘empathetic’ image, many of these big corporates offer mental health support. However, it seems that counsellors were made available first to show a positive image of the company and second to delegate complaints from managers to mental health professionals. It is a scheme that seems prominent in our societies nowadays; we are pushed to complain about our social conditions to mental health practitioners instead of complaining to the people in a position of power. It is kind of a smart way to derive the unpleasant conversations; deriving them to mental health professionals that unfortunately do not have that much power when it comes to changing our working conditions.
Many strategies are used in society to make us stop addressing abuse in its diverse forms. The ‘challenging’ social context, which in this case is Covid-19, is very often used to shut down our critics and complaints. Although, Covid-19 clearly highlighted inequalities, essential workers and other invisibilised workers were still expected to feel grateful to have a job despite their degrading working conditions. While the feeling of gratitude can sometimes be important, we should never have to feel grateful for a job that underpays and undermines us. We have the right to complain and express our feelings of discomfort. It is by speaking up that we get the chance to change our system.
I want to nag and I will nag until this system changes.
Nag, nag as much as you want!
References:
[1] “Government must ensure employment crisis does not turn into social crisis”, Social Justice Ireland, (August 2020)
[2] Neeta Kantamneni, “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized populations in the United States: A research agenda”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol.119, (2020)
[3] Isobel Hasher Hamilton and Áine Cain, “Amazon warehouse employees speak out about the ‘brutal’ reality of working during the holidays, when 60-hour weeks are mandatory and ambulance calls are common”, Insider, (2019)
[4] Jin Jin & Stephen J. Ball, “Meritocracy, social mobility and a new form of class domination”, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Volume 41- Issue1, (2020)
[5] Casey Newton, “The Trauma Floor”, The Verge, (2019)
[6] David G.Embrick, “The Diversity Ideology in the Business World: A New Oppression for a New Age”, Sage Journals, (2011)
