Meaning of Work by Studs Terkel - Book Report/Review Example

Introduction Working by Studs Terkel is a representation of people talking about their everyday life and their work challenges. Work has many different meanings depending with the context of the working environment of an individual. While some view work as a source of income, others derive satisfaction and fulfillment from their work. This paper will analyze how ten individuals interviewed in Studs Terkel perceive their work. After that, there will be an analysis of the differences and similarities between how those interviewees feel about their work. I will then compare their results with those of an individual interviewed in this paper as indicated in the transcript following this paper. Analysis of Studs Terkel’s interviewees a) Hobart foote He is a utility man at an auto plant, Ford Motor car, and has been working there for more than 17 years. For him, Working is good as it helps the family and helps him keep out of trouble. He is proud of what his job gives him but is not proud of his job. He likes to work after getting used to the job as the job feeds and takes care of his family. Many of his colleges hate the company but he doesn’t. The pay is good, the benefits and there is paid leave. His work has become a routine and he has no hurry as he has learned to sort his pace and thus has an average day at the job. When he retires, he would not stay idle “I’m gonna have a little garden…do a little fishing, hunting…keep my mind occupied.”(239). b) Tom Brand He is a Plant manager at Ford Assembly Division in Chicago. He wakes up very early in the, morning and he is done working very late at night. He believes healthy people should work hard and is in charge of many people in different divisions in the plant. His job has challenges pf dealing with many people as he has to manage night shift and day shift. There have been several accidents in the plant which had led to temporary closure of the plant two years ago. He enjoys working very much as he loves interaction with people. He is not bossy with his subordinates as he is very approachable. His father also worked for Ford. He does not see himself resigning at fifty. He wishes to work for Ford as long he is healthy even past 59. c) Booker Page He drives his own cab in Manhattan at the age of 61. Although cab driving is tiring for his age, he views working is essential for he wants to make enough money for his family. He has been on sea for 30 years as a freighter and finds the cab job very exhausting. He does not get the exercise he used to get while at sea and this has added him a lot of weight. He misses his job at the sea but it separated isolated him from his wife for a very long time and he would rather do a cab and he close to his family. He loves this job because it is making him enough money. d) Lucky miller He is a cab driver at 26 years and has been driving for 4years. He admits that the cab driver is not the ideal job, but he loves his job and believes his job can no longer be stereotyped as “there are many different types of cabdrivers with as many different dispositions…” nevertheless, there are times when he is not proud of being a cabdriver. He is faced with the challenge of theft and carjacking which has led to deaths of many cabdrivers. He loves his job because it gives him about $125 a day. He plans to study mental health as he does not want to raise a family as a cad driver. e) Alfred Pommer He has been a parking lot attendant for 30 years. He views working as a necessity to support his family, he says “I do my job because I know I have to work” (301). He views this job as appropriate only for the young people in their twenties but as one gets older, the thrill and the speed disappears. His work is regular and has learned to cope with the many challenges and the busyness of the park. The best thing about this job is getting regular customers who give tips. f) Johnny Bosworth He is a salesman at a car dealer and has diverse experience in sales. He believes working is risking and you have to risk for you to benefit from your work. He loves his job because it takes scare of his family. He says, “I like my job, I have to like it, I must like it. Otherwise I’ll be miserable.” He believes to sell you have to like what you do lest you won’t make any sales as the job has many challenges. There are rude people and those who waste time but do not buy at all. He believes the business world cannot survive without salesmen. g) Sam Mature He has been a barber for 43 years with 21 years being an owner of a barbershop in the same locale. He works because he has to pay bills and take care of his family. He is however not proud of being a barber and so he is very keen in separating his professional life and his personal life. He says, “when a man asks me what I do for a living, I usually try to avoid that question.’ When he retires, he would like to be a barber in the outskirts where barbers have more authority and more respect. They are also treated as friends by their clients unlike in the city where clients feel they have to tip you. The challenge he faces in his job is reduced service as many people nowadays prefer to keep long hair. h) Dr. Stephen Bartlett He is a dentist and he enjoys dentistry. He went to study dentistry at the age of 28 years and believes he will do it again if he was to choose again. He believes dentistry is the best profession if the world. However, he is faced with challenges in the working condition. He spends most of his time standing and struggling in many positions with the patients whose teeth are in bad shape. Unlike other professional, you cannot get paid while away from work as you get paid when the patient gets the service. i) Hots Michaels He plays the piano at a bar. He likes his job as it helps him pay the bills, interact with others and forget the worries to tomorrow. He gets worried thinking about what he will do after retirement. He would not recommend this job for his son because most people working at the bar rely on tips but he has a regular income unlike most people. He has a regular day at his work because he is already used to it. j) Nancy Rodgers She is a bank teller and views her work as very important especially because she helps people save their money as it is gratifying to see the accomplishment of many people. However, she faces a lot of discrimination in this job where there are many women because the male would not accept the pay. Getting promoted is a problem as people would get you fired when you are almost there. She thinks her job does not have the prestige as people view that they have the right to be served and others treat you rudely. She has no regret for working as a teller. Difference in the meaning of work among the ten individuals interviewed Different individuals have different meaning of work. Some feel that work is an avenue for them to feed and take care of their families. Others feel it’s a way of connecting people to their dreams. Dr. Stephen Bartlett and Nancy Rodgers may face consequences in their jobs but they derive pleasure I seeing the satisfaction in their clients. Other workers like Sam Mature, Johnny Bosworth, Alfred Pommer, Lucky miller, Booker Page, Hobart foote and Hots Michaels work because their families are in need of the money and they would be devastated if they did not have those jobs. Others like Tom Brand view work as a form of self-satisfaction. He wakes up very early and retires to work very late by loves his job very much as it enables him to interact with many people throughout the day. Similarities in regard to the meaning of work among the ten individuals interviewed All the individuals interviewed have many challenges in their work. Many of those challenges are caused by their clients or their bosses. In a regular working day, there are many customers who are dissatisfied, rude or just making trouble for the workers which worsen their day. Other bosses are just difficult; they would like to overwork you for less amount of money. Another thing is that all of them are required to work many hours a day, waking up very early and sleeping very late. Whether it is the managers, the cab drivers or the self-employed, they have indicated that working for many hours has been a trend for them. What most people expect, want, and need from their jobs Most people want to work in a peaceful environment where they are respected and paid for their value. Many people want to separate their work from their persona life since they work for long hours and would not want their work to interfere with the little time they have for their families. They would also want to learn more from their jobs as most are in the same location and the same job description for a long time. Lessons learn about work from interviews in Terkel’s Working Many workers recognize the need to work hard for their families and their future even when they don’t take pride in what they do. Workers are not proud of less prestigious jobs and would rather keep it away from others. Workers condition themselves to their work because they have to earn a living. I also realized that clients can either make or break your day and you have to learn to be hard and polite to survive well in a workplace. Meaning of work for the individual interviewed Yingkang views work as a form of satisfaction. She has a job which is perfectly in line with her career training. She is able to deliver results and achieve accomplishment in terms of being able to actually resolve problems for the current business strategy and perform meaningful analysis to help the team recognize/confront various issues. Her work also enables her to spend some times with friends and relatives without distractions. She also receives very little supervision which gives her the freedom to implement her own methods in her work. This and the cozy working environment give her much satisfaction in her job. What she seems to expect, want, and need from work She expects freedom in her working environment since she spends most of her time analyzing, modeling and performing statistical inference which do not require much interference. She wants a working environment where she has an opportunity of leaning more from her job. She needs more challenging experiences away from the norm. She also want work which allows her to spend some quality time with her family and take care of her personal matter without her work getting on the way. She would also appreciate more peers in her position so that she is able to share ideas and learn from others. Did anything surprise you about the interview? Did the interview change your view of the individual’s occupation? Yes, I was surprised to realize that Yingkang is very proud of her job. Many people do not derive satisfaction from their jobs and the only thing they like about their job is being paid. However, Yingkang spends most of the working time alone in the same position without any one to share with and yet she is proud of that job. My view about her job changed and it made me realize that workers who work alone and are not into contact with the clients are more peaceful than those working directly with the clients. Were the individual’s perceptions of work similar or different from the interviews you read in Working? Explain. The perception of Yingkang towards work was different from those interviewed in Working. Yingkang enjoys her job and is not interested in her work because of the pay and paying of bills as is the case with many interviewees in Working. She is also not working directly with the customers. Therefore, she does not experience more challenges of dealing directly with clients such as rudeness and pressure. She also receives a lot of freedom in her work which allows her to be more satisfied with her job unlike those in Working who receive mush criticism and pressure in their work. Conclusion The different individuals in Working define work in diverse ways depending on how they interact in their working environment. Many of them face financial problems and they work to be able to fulfil their obligations to their families. Very few of them work for the satisfaction of the work. In our interview, we found out that there are workers who do not face major challenges as those faced in Studs Terkel’s Working. This analysis has helped me realize that many workers face challenges in their work but they keep strong and work hard for their families’ sake. Work cited Cox, P. L. The meaning of Work: Studs Terkel’s working as a teaching tool. Journal of management Education, 28, 757-769, 2004. Studs Terkel, Working, Ballantine books; New York, 1974. Appendix 1: Table of Studs Terkel’s interviewees Name Occupation Page number 1. Hobart foote Utility man at an auto plant 232 2. Tom Brand Plant manager at Ford Assembly Division in Chicago 243 3. Booker Page Cab driver in Manhattan 266 4. Lucky Miller Cab driver 269 5. Alfred Pommer Parking lot attendant 297 6. Johnny Bosworth Salesman at a car dealer 303 7. Sam Mature Barber 313 8. Dr. Stephen Bartlett Dentist 328 9. Hots Michaels Piano player at ‘The Piano bar’ 335 10. Nancy Rodgers Bank Teller 344 Appendix 2: Transcript � What is a typical day like in your job? Yingkang: About 70% spent analyzing, modeling, and statistical inference, 20% doing regulatory checks on data quality and reporting on changes in key indicators, 10% illustration/communication on my findings � What do you like and what do you dislike about your job? Yingkang: I like the flat structure/ environment - that I receive very little supervision and have tremendous amount of freedom to decide the methodology/analysis processes. Also like the cozy environment - don’t have to worry anything about office politics or maintaining personal relationship with colleagues. As for what I dislike, I can’t learn very much from people around me as I am the only person in this position � If you could do it over, would you choose the same job? Why or why not? Yingkang: I would, partially due to immigration status of an international student and partially due to the nature of work perfectly matches my academic training � Would you want your children to choose a similar profession? Yingkang: I am fairly young to actually consider about kids and family education, but from personal brought up experience - I have been given many freedom regarding choosing future career path and exploring my field of interest. so I think I would provide a similar environment if I will do kids in the future � What about your job gives you the most satisfaction? The most dissatisfaction? Yingkang: satisfaction - accomplishment in terms of being able to actually resolve problems for the current business strategy and perform meaningful analysis to help the team recognize/confront various issues. Dissatisfaction - similar to the dislike - unable to learn very much for my area of expertise. � Describe an ideal job. What characteristics would it have? Yingkang: I don’t actually believe there to be an ideal job but instead a job that most suit my current status. For example, as of my current status, I would want a job that is similar to mine except I have more peers working on similar issues - which allows us to learn from each other and improve together. � What role does your job play in your life? What meaning does work have for you? Yingkang: Because of a really nice working hour, my work and personal life has been separated fairly well - 1) I don’t have to worry too much about my work during the off duty time 2) I have quite a bit free time to enjoy life and socialize with friends In succinct, work is very important as I exert a great amount of effort and receive equivalent satisfaction, but it’s definitely not overwhelming enough to dominate my life. Read More