On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane

by Emily Guendelsberger

efficiency, and productivity are equivalent to good.

At the time, a manager would weigh a worker’s overall job performance against her reasons for being late and decide whether it’s a big deal. Here, judgment is supposedly binary, dispassionate, and automatic—you either clock in on time or you don’t.

monotonous work does kind of twist and deaden the mind—or the soul, to

And it turns out that an overload of mental stress will screw up your body just as much as ten-hour days lifting pig iron will.

Until recently, I had exactly that kind of freedom, and I took it for granted.

the worst customer still had more value to the company than the best rep.

existence is. So why is America so crazy? It’s the inescapable chronic stress built into the way we work and live. It’s the insane idea that an honest day’s work means suppressing your humanity, dignity, family, and other nonwork priorities in exchange for low wages