Introduction of essay 3

If we notice the workers from outside who work in factories and other companies, we just classify them as a physical labor. We don’t see the hidden emotional labor over them. The foreman of the company gives stress to move their body part fast on work. This stress acts as an emotional stress on workers. Similarly if we talk about Nurse, we just see emotional labor on them. We don’t observe any physical stress on Nurse from outside. But the fact is that nurse should suffer from physical stress too. So, in this paper we explore how physical and emotional labors are correlated with each other.

Introduction of essay 3

Topic:Correlation between physical and emotional labor

We all know physical and emotional labors are two different term. Physical labor refers to the physical work where mostly people have to use and move their body parts. Emotional labor is the display of expected emotions by service agents during service encounters. It is performed through surface acting, deep acting, or the expression of genuine emotion. Physical labor refers to the people who work in factories, mines, restaurant as dishwasher e.t.c. Emotional labor consist of people such as restaurant workers, cashiers, hospital workers, bill collectors, secretaries, nurses. Although these two terms appear totally dissimilar, they are correlated with one another. If we see from outer surface we can’t find any connection between them. We have to go in depth and do research to find correlation between them. The work which has physical stress has emotional stress and emotional stress work has physical stress too. So, Physical labor is linked with emotional labor and vice-versa. In this paper, we explore the connection between physical and emotional labor by showing examples of workers who work in factories, restaurant, beer tube e.t.c

Evaluation

When I read the topic “Evaluation”, author tries to describe the condition of low wage workers. She shows different obstacles that low wage workers have to face on their work. She gives some good hint for worker regarding the tricky issue by saying “you need to be fast and thorough, but not so fast and thorough that you end up making things tougher for everyone else” (194). If worker don’t know anything then it might be problem for them, but if they know too much then it might be problem for them too. When she worked in Wal-Mart, one of the co-workers advised her not to “know too much,” because “the more they think you can do, the more they’ll use you and abuse you.” So knowing too much is also one of the problems in work.

Low wage workers have to give up the car and buying a used bike or walking to work. They have to do more than one job to standard their performance. She talks about the workers of Minneapolis that most of them like to work in Wal-Mart rather than at one of the better paying jobs available because of transportation problems. Not only transportation problem, but they have rents problem too. When the rich and poor people compete for housing, rich people always outbid them. So poor people are necessarily been forced into housing that is more expensive, more dilapidated or more distant from their places of work. We can say poor have to work near the dwellings to the rich. They are always suffered from rich people.

Bonus Point

When I read the article “The Most Dangerous Job” I saw different sub-topic like sharp knives, the worst, don’t get caught, the value of an arm and finally Kenny. The author ended his story with Kenny.

Kenny was a Monfort employee for almost sixteen years. He could not read, possessed few skills other than his strength, and the company had given him a job. So he felt a strong loyalty to Monfort. He did not think highly of labor union and go against company. He was an active and outspoken member of an anti- union group. Although he got several injuries and can’t work he joins the work and tries to do his best. He was loyal to his job and company. He doesn’t care about his life while working. Not just for the company, but Kenny was faithful toward workers too. Once he saved one of the workers lives by running across the room, grab him by the seat of his pants, and pull him away from the machine an instant before it would have pulverized that worker. He was one of the fellow workers. Although he was loyal to his work and spend most of the life in work, finally company tossed him into the trash can. Monfort used each and every body part of Kenny and finally leave him at the time of help. Although Kenny worked there for almost sixteen years, he didn’t get any pension from Monfort. Once he was strong and powerful, but now he is suffering and walks through difficulties, tires easily, and feels useless.

When I read the story of Kenny I feel so sad. I don’t even think that he would have suffered like that. When he got awarded then I think that the company has positive thinking about him. But this was just show up. Finally company kicks him up and breaks his loyalty.

I have also some experience similar as Kenny. I work with one guy who is same like Kenny. He was very loyalty toward his job and boss. He works there for almost 17 years. He was a hard worker and does extra work for the company. But one day somebody complains about him and boss fire him in small reason. What did he get being loyalty and working for 17 years? So I think we should never trust the work and fully devoted over there. We should take our work as easy way. If we do that then it will go smoothly without any difficulties and conflict.

Essay # 3 step 3

My question regarding the topic is “How Physical labor and emotional labor are co-related with each other?”
As we talk about labor, there are different types of labor. Among them we are discussing about physical and emotional labor. We saw difference between physical and emotional labor, but they two are co-related with each other. I have used two outside source and two course texts from Studs Terkel “Working” to help answer of my question.

1.B.C Waitress’s hurt Feelings’ worth $6,000.” Editorial. Edmonton Sun. Edmonton Sun, 20 august, 2007. Web. 18 may, 2010.

This article tries to show the feeling of emotional labor. One of the waitresses who work in a beer tube is forced to wear bikinis by her boss. She told she feels uncomfortable to wear bikini in a bar full of drunken people. But the boss told her to find someone else to work the shift if she didn’t want to wear bikinis with the rest of the servers. She went to coat check room and cry and was too upset to continue the job. So, forcing to wear such things affects individual emotionally. She has to do physical work like serving the beer to customer and taking order from them. So, I think she suffered from both physically and emotionally. If there is emotional job then there is physical job too. So they are related with each other.

2.“Our aches and pain are greatly influenced by emotions.”McClatchy-Tribune News Service. St.Louis Post-Dispatch. St.Louis Post, 14 august, 2006.Web. 19 may, 2010.

This article straightforwardly shows the relationship between physical and emotional labor. According to psychologist Ryan Niemiec “emotion and physical labor are critically connected on every level.” The statement “Anything that happens in body happens in the mind and anything that happens in the mind happens in the body” try to show the link between physical and emotion. That means physical stress has emotional stress and emotional stress has physical stress too.

3.Terkel Studs.”Working”, Waitress(1972),page 293-298

In this chapter, Terekel took an interview of waitress (Dolores Danet) and try to find the condition of waitress. This topic mainly shows the emotional feeling of waitress. She use some of words like resentment, self- conscious, sense of guilt try to shows the emotional feeling of waitress (296). In the interview she says “It builds and builds and builds in your guts. Near crying. I can think about it cause you’re tiered” by crying softly which shows that she is emotional as well as physical labor too (298). She had to run around the table and take care of customers. She was mentally and physically tiered. So from this interview we can conclude that emotional labor is connected with physical labor although we just see the emotional labor of waitress.

4.Terkel Studs. “Working”, Who Built the Pyramids? (1972), page xxxi-xxxviii

This topic is the interview with one of the physical labor (Mike Lefevre) who works in a steel mill. His job is physical work. He has to do strict muscle work like an old mule. We think that he doesn’t have any emotional stress, but he has to tolerate emotional stress too. They are also suffered from their foreman. Foreman gives them a pressure to work fast due to which they get nervous and suffer from emotional stress. In the interview one of the guys told “The first thing happen at work: when the arms start moving, the brain stops” which shows physical connection with emotion. When he does physical work then he gets senseless and cannot think anything. This directly shows that physical labor is co-related with emotional labor.

Interview from Terkel Step # 2

Among different interviews, I choose two interviews from Terkel that mostly makes me curious to write. One with Dolores Danet who works as Waitress in a Restaurant and another is Sam Mature who works as barber in his own shop.

The interview with Dolores Danet makes us feel sad and emotional. If we read her interview it makes us to cry and she cried softly in interview. She is a waitress in a restaurant for twenty- three years. Although people have negative thinking on waitress, she doesn’t care. She feels proud to be waitress. Even though she has to work on tips she likes her job because she thinks working on tips is the best and fast way to earn money. According to her, becoming a waitress is an art. It is not an easy job. It’s tiring, nerve- racking. She can’t ever sit down and should roam around the table. She does all these hard work for tips.

In Terkel interview with Sam Mature, he works as a barber for forty three years and work in his own shop. According to him tipping is not a good way for income. He is in favor of not tipping. He thinks tipping is just for bellhop, redcap, waiter. Tipping feels him like a beggar. So, he doesn’t want to work on tips. He tells himself as a professional man by comparing his job with doctor and dentist concerning tips. Nobody gives tips to doctor and dentist because they are professional, so in Sam Mature thought working on tips is non- professional job. But when people ask about his job then he avoid that question because he doesn’t want to identify himself as a barber.

So, from those two interviews I found lot of difference in profession regarding same thing. Dolores Danet likes to work on tips, but Sam Mature is against it. Danet loves her job and feel proud of her job. But in contrast Sam Mature doesn’t feel proud of his job but feel shy to tell his profession when somebody asks him. If we compare those two interviews then directly or indirectly Sam Mature views towards Danet is beggar because she works on tip. But she likes her job and feels proud to be waitress.

Post#5 Interview

As I read different interviews from the packet I select the interview with James Cerofeci which was held on 10/18/1981. In this interview, Interviewer try to find out the condition of workers who worked in Steinway factory by questioning about the problem workers have to face. Workers get discriminated, paid low wage, no holidays, no protection of job. Even though they work in same rubbing department they were paid different wages. Not only that, foreman would favor certain guys, and he’d treat others a little differently, roughly, or things like that. (pg42) Interviewer found the alternative job of James during three years depression period, which was a hack driver. He got low wage on hack driver, so after re-opened of factory he left hackers and return to earlier job. Interviewer tried to find the reaction of Steinway; which was terrible when workers form a union. Finally, Interviewer shows the rate of women who works in Steinway and that was very few which proof that there was gender discrimination.
This is a transcript of interview, so we feel practical conversation. We don’t feel that we are reading interview. We go to the real situation by reading transcript of interview. We found many broken words in the interview and this is the real things that happen during interview. But in edited interview they just cut such broken words and modify to make it clear. As we saw the interview of Terkel, we can’t find such hesitation, resistance and incomplete words. We can just see the interviewer question and the long brief answer of interviewee.
Interviewee experience is totally coincidence with the topic “Up Against Wal-Mart”. There was discrimination, low wage paid, hard work, and break down of union in “Up Against Wal-Mart”. I saw similar story in this interview with James Cerofeci.