When was the last time you asked permission to go to the bathroom? Would you panic over running two minutes late? Is it normal to be constantly monitored at work, to have everything you do timed to the second? When was the last time you sold something to pay a bill? Do you have to wait to be searched for stolen goods after you work? Have you ever considered DIY dental surgery? Have you gone to work sick because you can’t afford to take unpaid time off? Have you had to supply a doctors note to prove you deserve that unpaid time off? Have you recently overdrawn your checking account, or had all your credit cards declined, or put exactly ten bucks of gas in your car?
Nearly everyone with influence in this country, regardless of political affiliation, is incredibly insulated from how miserable and dehumanizing the daily experience of work has gotten over the past decade or two. Many never had a service job. If I were to give my “in the weeds” poll to everyone with political clout — I’d bet everything I own that only a few would know the waitress definition.
(…) To people with education and influence, “in the weeds” is something academic, about small, unimportant details. It’s the footnotes. It’s something you observe from the outside. To everybody else, “in the weeds” is something you experience. It’s something you feel. It’s your life.”
—Emily Guendelsberger, On The Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane
