English Literature

In the book Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting by in America, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) investigates the economic and political conditions of the working poor. She realizes that the working poor are damned because they are paid so little for the emotional labor they render. The main argument of the book is that ordinary workers in America could hardly survive in a capitalist world that gives wages in nickels and dimes, when they work in a workplace, where they experience corporate repression, and when they have no other consolation, but to find strength in religious beliefs and social networks, because only through the latter actions can the workers ease the burden of emotional labor.

Ordinary workers in America could hardly survive in a capitalist world that gives wages in nickels and dimes and Ehrenreich learns this literally the hard way. She says There are no secret economics that nourish the poor on the contrary, there are a host of special costs. If you cant put up the two months rentyou end up paying through the nose for a room by the week (27). She points out that no matter how many jobs she takes, she still cannot get a decent and healthy meal. Instead, she relies on unhealthy fast food options that are cheaper and more convenient, but have no nutrients to sustain the whole day and nights hard work. For Ehrenreich, this is the way for corporations and private organizations to force workers into eternal servitude. After all, if these workers stay at minimum or below minimum wage, it means that the companies will have enough source of cheap labor- for a very long time.

Ordinary workers can scarcely survive the world because they experienced corporate oppression at the workplace.  Ehrenreich says Corporate decision makersoccupy an economic position miles above that of the underpaid people whose labor they depend onand because of prejudice against the workers, there is  the perceived need for repressive management and intrusive measures like drug and personality testing (212). She argues that through this oppressive environment, companies can ensure that they also control their workers through fear- fear of losing their jobs and being in a worse state than they are. These repressive management systems and practices also dehumanize workers and make them feel less empowered in the workplace.

Workers have no other consolation but to find strength in religious beliefs and social networks, because only through the latter actions can the workers ease the burden of emotional labor.  Workers are offering emotional labor because they deal mostly with people in face-to-face situations. They can absorb negative energies from customers, who can be angry at the company for varied reasons, but since the latter cannot yell at the company, they scream at underpaid workers. Religion, however, is a source of strength for many workers. A work friend of Barbaras suggests that she find a church when she is in a new place, because many church goers will help out each other, emotionally and sometimes, even financially. For her, her friends make work easier, because they provide emotional strength.  Ehrenreich, nonetheless, is an atheist and a socialist and she finds no meaning in churches But Jesus makes his appearance here only as a corpse the living man, the wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist, is never once mentioned, nor anything he ever had to say (68). Though Ehrenreich denigrates the power of the church to lessen the emotional stress of the working poor, for many women that she works with, the church is a source of power and resilience.

This book argues about how capitalism reinforces poverty through low wages and repressive management systems, practices, and policies. Nevertheless, it is still possible to find light in this dreary world through finding a good church and developing supportive social networks. Through faith in God and the help of other people, the working poor can ease the burden of emotional labor, in ways that are beyond money, and within the realm of the spirit.