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

by Emily Guendelsberger

Though Convergys’s haphazard web of rules sometimes makes me nostalgic for Amazon’s perfectly integrated systems, it’s always short-lived. Convergys can be frustrating, but SDF8 made me feel like I was actually going to go crazy. Here, the inefficiency of the training system manifests itself as time to talk and goof off with my classmates. Even if I were in as much physical pain as I was at SDF8, I’d still take this over Amazon every time. Because I make friends. It’s been a while since I’ve been part of a group of disparate women* thrown together to learn something, and I’d forgotten how nice that bond can be. I rolled my eyes when Kimberly said she wants us to become like a family, but we kind of do; people even consider making class shirts. I make friends, actual friends, people I can smoke and laugh and even go to the beach with, though I still feel I stick out.