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How Do You Like Your Unpaid Second Job?
[The author defines] shadow work as all the unpaid jobs we do on behalf of businesses and organizations: We are pumping our own gas, scanning our own groceries, booking our travel and busing our tables at Starbucks. Shadow work is a new concept, so as yet, no one has compiled economic data on how many jobs we, the consumers, have taken over from (erstwhile) employees. Yet it is surely a force shrinking the job market, and the unemployment it creates is structural. Thanks in part to this new phenomenon, widespread joblessness could become entrenched in the social landscape. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/ … 18119.html Jun 24 15 01:05 pm Link Well, in Oregon, it's illegal to pump your own gas. That's a start. My mother brought me up to clean up after myself. So, I don't have a problem with that. Indeed, I feel a little ashamed when people clean up after me (and when they do, I pay & tip well). No one is "entitled" to a job -- we all have to justify our financial existence, every year. Every job should produce a product or a service that is of value. Jun 24 15 01:15 pm Link I grew up during the time when an attendant would pump the gas, wash the windshield, check the oil and take payment for gasoline without the driver ever having to leave the car. But today, compared to my experiences when I visit Oregon, I prefer to pump the gas myself. I have never spent so much time waiting for a kid to walk slowly over, take my card, put the nozzle in, start the pump, walk slowly away, not notice the pump is done, walk slowly back, put the nozzle up, give me the receipt and then not even say "thank you". I did find out the quickest way to get them over to pump the gas is to get out and begin to pump it myself. I refuse to use self checkouts at stores. There is always an issue with an item or something else that requires me to wait on the one employee that is watching six self checkouts to come fix. The time that ended my use of self checkouts was when I was buying 12 cans of spray paint to camo a hunting blind. Each time I scanned a can, the machine wanted the clerk to verify my age. It did not matter to the machine that this was all on the same sale, each damn time I scanned a can, the clerk had to enter her code that she verified my age. WTF? We went through that hassle TWELVE times! I will never use one of those damn things again. Jun 24 15 01:21 pm Link NJ is another state that does not allow one to pump their own gas. I, too, prefer to pump my own. I can't tell you how many times some idiot has squirted fuel all over the side of my car and especially all over my motorcycle. When I'm on a motorcycle, if they won't let me pump my own, I go to a station that will. Perhaps a sideline question, but does this "second job" include bringing your own food to a table in a place like McDonalds (if one eats in places like that)? A long time ago, all a person had to do was pull up and someone would take your order and bring the food to you. They eventually changed so a person had to go to the counter themselves. What say you? Jun 24 15 01:34 pm Link ernst tischler wrote: Huh. That's definitely not a good experience. They are always very efficient and very friendly to me, but that's likely because I'm a regular customer: I always go to the same Fred Meyer gas station (there's one halfway between my house and my studio) because I get discounts ---averaging .50 to $1 off per gallon--- using the gas points accumulated through regular loyalty-card-tracked grocery purchases. Jun 24 15 03:00 pm Link How about all the shadow work of cooking my own food, putting it on a plate, carrying it to the couch, turning on my own TV, lifting my own fork, chewing my own food, etc., etc.?!? I must be working 7 or 8 jobs by now. Jun 24 15 03:10 pm Link we stopped for gas at spirit mountain casino near salem and had to pump our own Looknsee Photography wrote: Jun 24 15 03:14 pm Link Home Depot sold me a lawn mower. When I got it home, I read the manual and it says that I have to push it around on the lawn myself. This is not the America that I know. Jun 24 15 03:24 pm Link sorry but this is not a "new" phenomenon...for as long as man has existed, he has created technology to make things more efficient. Think of all the IT guys who lost jobs when Microsoft came out with that GUI and that little clicky thing next to your keyboard...ad infinitum. Pump your own gas...it's pretty stupid to forced to pay 10 cents more per gallon to have some idiot 16year old pump gas. It provides no value to most people who can pump their own gas. Jun 24 15 03:25 pm Link FlirtynFun Photography wrote: Have I got a thread for you! Jun 24 15 03:26 pm Link NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote: and I replied... Jun 24 15 03:33 pm Link FlirtynFun Photography wrote: They pump it in Jersey and it is cheaper than it is here. Saving that 10 cents (notice there is no cents symbol on the keyboard) just gave the state 20 more in taxes. Jun 24 15 03:43 pm Link FlirtynFun Photography wrote: I don't mind having some kid pump my gas. He has a job, which provides him an income, which he'll then spend, which stimulates the economy. Better than being some entitled bum living off his parents in perpetuity. Jun 24 15 03:52 pm Link Lovely Day Media wrote: There still are a few of these places. Jun 24 15 06:22 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: There's an A&W's up in Lexington that does that still Jerry. Over out near Lake Huron. Jun 24 15 06:27 pm Link I actually prefer pumping my own gas, checking out my own groceries, etc. I didn't really grow up with these functions the way people who are in their 20s now did, When I was a kid and teen, there were no automated grocery checkouts, and growing up my mom always had a guy pump the gas and tipped him for service. Self-service started becoming a thing around the time I went to college, and I remember the first time I went through the automated checkout line, it seemed like the greatest thing ever. Not only because I didn't have to wait, but because I didn't have to deal with people asking me if I had coupons, if I had a store card, did I want so and so promotion, did I want a card, did I want paper or plastic. That being said, I'll openly admit that what many people refer to as "good customer service" and have come to expect just annoys me most of the time. Especially in stores, where I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. I also don't like waiters in restaurants to buzz around the table, or make chit-chat, or keep checking back. That actually negatively effects my restaurant/store experience. I think that for those of us who don't care for "customer service," these self service options are almost a relief. They get the employees out of your hair, and just let you ...be... Jun 24 15 07:10 pm Link Gryph wrote: There is also one at the A&W in Standish, MI. Jun 25 15 12:47 am Link Is this an American thing? I am considered poor in a third world country. I don't have a wife so I have two housekeepers. I think they take over about 10 jobs including driving my car when I get tired and doing photography paperwork. Even updating my websites and answering email from crazy people. Jun 25 15 01:00 am Link Shadow work is businesses capitalizing on the " independent spirit" of the citizens of the Republic. Hence it makes sense and "works" in the USA. It is the perfect " marriage" between capitalism and independence; the businesses are making money ( capitalism) and the people are doing the work by and for themselves (independence). Jun 25 15 02:17 am Link Hunter GWPB wrote: Sure there is ¢¢¢¢¢ Jun 25 15 03:28 am Link studio36uk wrote: ¡™£¢∞§¶•ªº–≠πøˆ¨¥†®´∑œåß∂∂ƒƒ©©˙˙∆∆˚¬…æ÷≥≤µ˜∫√ç≈ΩΩ Jun 25 15 03:46 am Link kickfight wrote: that doesn't make a lot of sense...much like many other tax schemes. So it costs the consumer more money...and somehow that ONE kid pumping gas makes the economy turn around? Jun 25 15 05:18 am Link NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote: Here in BC,Canada, most service stations are setup with full-service and self-serve pumps.You can pump your own gas, or pay more ( not sure how much more...cause I pump my own always).I rarely see anyone using the full-serve pumps. Jun 25 15 06:56 am Link waynes world pics wrote: And just so I don't accidentally pull into a full-serve pump, I go across the line, fill up in Blaine, WA (pumping my own), and save 20%. I'm ok with that... of course, it helps when you live 6 minutes from the border. Jun 25 15 07:13 am Link FlirtynFun Photography wrote: I don't think they're paying people $0.10/gallon to pump gas. I don't have exact stats, but we can make some rough estimates. Jun 25 15 07:37 am Link OP, are you even remotely capable of thinking for yourself? I live near Seattle. We're experiencing a tech boom due to industries like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, et al. Without too much strain on a functioning mind one can see that they exist as enablers of the "shadow job" bs you've cut and pasted for our benefit. Big fucking deal. In a certain fashion, it happens the other way as well. I no longer have to butcher my own meat (sorry Alexey...), can my own beans, weave my own cloth, cut my own hair or whittle my own buggy whips! You know doubt consider me uninformed, but I disagree with the socialist ideology identifying profit as ultimately theft, corporations as inherently evil, and efficiency as a means of enslaving the proletariat. I used one of the first ATM's in town when they were available in the early 70's. I worked nights full-time while going to school full-time and it was a good thing that I could cash my paycheck at 5:30 in the morning. I pump my own gas, check out my own groceries, shop for my own clothes and bus my own tables. And I even develop my own opinions, arrive at my own conclusions and formulate my own thoughts. But I guess we're just not ever going to agree on much of anything. EDIT:: This is even worse than at first glance! This morning I'm doing the final retouching on some images before they go to press. I'm doing my own retouching with Photoshop, thereby taking food out of the mouths of Scitex operators and dot etchers! And when I'm done with that I'll be converting the images and running the CMYK PDF through the RIP printer, thus screwing the film scan technicians, color separators and contract proof makers! All while the graphic designers and copy editors use Adobe products that steal baby shoes off the children of typesetters, service bureaus, and calligraphers! My but I am Jun 25 15 07:39 am Link NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote: Replacing cashiers with self-scan stations is one thing--I agree this is adding to unemployment. Jun 25 15 08:05 am Link MN Photography wrote: you're doing it wrong. Jun 25 15 08:24 am Link Brian Diaz wrote: The average gas station/convenience store sells about 4,100 gallons of gas per day, so that's about 230 gallons per hour (assuming 18 hours per day, which is conservative because a lot of gas stations are open 24/7) for the entire station. If a station has 12 pumps (also a low estimate), that about 19 gallons per hour per pump. If one employee was assigned to 4 pumps (probably too low to cover peak times), that employee would be pumping about 80 gallons per hour. So, that's 12 cents per gallon if the employees are paid $10 per hour. And that's probably a low estimate. Jun 25 15 08:52 am Link One thing that seems to be missing in this discussion of lamenting the vanishing low paid, trainable, part-time job is that it's actually pretty difficult to fill the low paid, trainable, part-time jobs that currently exist. I think one of the main forces driving self service is the unavailability of people who want to work those jobs. We have millions of illegal immigrants in the country for a lot of reasons and one of the most common reasons is that it's difficult to get hands to do these kind of jobs. Most retail businesses in my area have perpetual help wanted signs in the window. For years, my ex and I ran a small chain of retail stores and hiring and training part time employees was one of the biggest challenges in running the business. I didn't even know what the minimum wage was in the state because I knew we couldn't pay close to it and hope to hire part time employees. We also hired illegal workers (mostly people in the US on a student visa) at the holidays because we just couldn't get anyone. Jun 25 15 09:12 am Link MN Photography wrote: Jun 25 15 09:29 am Link kickfight wrote: Forcing drivers to get out of their cars now and then to fill the gas tank forces them to stand, stretch their legs a bit and saves lives by reducing the risk of thrombophlebitis (blood clots due to sitting too long). Jun 25 15 09:38 am Link All the article is saying is that we are just at the beginning of this phenomenon, so it's not well understood, it takes place at the "points of sale," which greatly outnumber the usual "points of production" job loss, and that it's structural, entrenched, and probably not going to undo itself, so we should expect more stubbornly higher unemployment rates in future. Lightcraft Studio wrote: It's worth understanding. Jun 25 15 09:43 am Link The invisible hand is just theoretical and cannot be applied evenly to every situation. Demand for labor and demand for products and services does not always line up that neatly either. The choice is usually find ways to provide that service at a price the public will pay or don't offer it at all. If the government mandated the presence of pump attendants for example, many gas stations would not exist and people would be getting less service. The number of gas stations per capita in NJ for example is far less than the national average. Jun 25 15 09:47 am Link MN Photography wrote: Far from refuting its universality it sounds like you've provided the very definition of Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" Jun 25 15 09:59 am Link MN Photography wrote: Maybe they'll come up with a way to have some guy in a call center in India pump our gas for us at stations here. That could be interesting. Jun 25 15 10:00 am Link NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote: When you introduce an unnatural outside force like a government mandate, you are talking about the invisible magic wand and not the invisible hand. Jun 25 15 10:11 am Link MN Photography wrote: Not at all. Jun 25 15 10:13 am Link MN Photography wrote: You're assuming that if a full service gas station has 12 pumps, it needs 3 employees at all time. That's not how they work. During slow times, they close the pumps a single employee can't cover. During times of low demand, a gas station with 20 pumps at 5 islands will likely have 1 employee covering 4 pumps. Jun 25 15 10:13 am Link NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote: NJ doesn't have fewer gas stations because of market forces, that's only part of it. The mandated jobs serve no purpose except to provide jobs. The theory is not being tested the way Adam Smith intended. Jun 25 15 10:18 am Link |