Comments on: The ‘New’ Survival Job http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/02/28/the-new-survival-job/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:15:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: Ms. Theologian http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/02/28/the-new-survival-job/#comment-7941 Ms. Theologian Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:06:38 +0000 http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/02/28/the-new-survival-job/#comment-7941 Those are good points, Charlie. There does seem to be a bias across the NYT in terms of assuming that we all come from families that earn 200K a year, and that when we earn that much, we deserve it because we work hard. I suppose it's a bias of meritocracy. Also, we should note that none of this is particularly "new" as the article claims. People have always had to work jobs of all sorts that they didn't necessarily feel compelled to love. Those are good points, Charlie.

There does seem to be a bias across the NYT in terms of assuming that we all come from families that earn 200K a year, and that when we earn that much, we deserve it because we work hard. I suppose it’s a bias of meritocracy.

Also, we should note that none of this is particularly “new” as the article claims. People have always had to work jobs of all sorts that they didn’t necessarily feel compelled to love.

]]> By: Charlie Talbert http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/02/28/the-new-survival-job/#comment-7940 Charlie Talbert Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:00:50 +0000 http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/02/28/the-new-survival-job/#comment-7940 To have your pay cut by more than half has to be difficult, in ways big and small that I can’t imagine. And not just difficult, but when the new, lower paying job comes without health insurance benefits, potentially deadly too. What’s also troubling about this article is the tacit assumption of the guy who lost his $70,000 per year managerial job that, in healthier economic times, only lowlifes take low-paying jobs. “I broke down thinking, ‘This is what I’ve become,’” grieves the new janitor. This makes me cringe, thinking of some of the noble people I work with who clean the bathrooms, sweep the carpet, empty the trash, and perform other tasks no less important to the existence of our organization than those performed by those in higher paying positions. It’s clear from the article that he and his wife intend to persevere. As they struggle to hold onto their sense of worth and dignity, hopefully they will also come to see that these qualities are not linked to a job title. To have your pay cut by more than half has to be difficult, in ways big and small that I can’t imagine. And not just difficult, but when the new, lower paying job comes without health insurance benefits, potentially deadly too.

What’s also troubling about this article is the tacit assumption of the guy who lost his $70,000 per year managerial job that, in healthier economic times, only lowlifes take low-paying jobs. “I broke down thinking, ‘This is what I’ve become,’” grieves the new janitor.

This makes me cringe, thinking of some of the noble people I work with who clean the bathrooms, sweep the carpet, empty the trash, and perform other tasks no less important to the existence of our organization than those performed by those in higher paying positions.

It’s clear from the article that he and his wife intend to persevere. As they struggle to hold onto their sense of worth and dignity, hopefully they will also come to see that these qualities are not linked to a job title.

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