

The Asshole Factory - rwc
https://medium.com/bad-words/the-asshole-factory-71ff808d887c

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AndrewKemendo
_She’s jacked into a headset that literally barks algorithmic, programmed
“orders” at her, parroting her own “performance” back to her, telling her how
she compares with quotas calculated…down to the second…for all the hundreds of
items in the store…which recites “influence and manipulation techniques” to
her_

This sounds waaay too much like Manna to be real. If it is real that's just
insane. What company is the author talking about?

 _The economy doesn’t make stuff anymore. That much you know. So what does it
make?_

Except this is not true at all and the U.S. is the fourth largest manufacturer
worldwide [1]. I think what people are trying to say is: "The average America
does not work in manufacturing anymore" \- which would be more accurate [2].

[1][http://www.nam.org/Newsroom/Facts-About-
Manufacturing/](http://www.nam.org/Newsroom/Facts-About-Manufacturing/)

[2][http://www.epi.org/publication/the-manufacturing-
footprint-a...](http://www.epi.org/publication/the-manufacturing-footprint-
and-the-importance-of-u-s-manufacturing-jobs/)

~~~
notduncansmith
Thanks for turning me onto Manna, it was a very thought-provoking read.

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chatmasta
Well written, albeit aggressive, piece. Reads more like an art form than an
exposé. Consider how different the message would be if it included the name of
the corporation. I actually find it poetic that the piece is meaningful
without the name. For all we know this job could not exist, but perhaps what
is so utterly frightening is the fact that it _could_ exist. Mara may not
exist, at least in this exaggerated form, but her story captures an alarmingly
modern parable. Does this "psychological warfare" have moral bounds
constraining it outside retail, or will it eventually seep into every day
life? Has it already?

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brianwawok
failed to mention the college major of the genius friend?

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fsk
[http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm](http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm)

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voteforchange
Can't this guy make a point without sweeping generalizations?

Also, do we need so much swearing... think of the children?

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jqm
There is nothing new about abuse or folks becoming assholes or bad work
situations.

Although I do agree the American workplace has a high degree of dysfunction
and is not nearly what it could be.

~~~
chatmasta
The only abuse in this story is between Mara and her own mindset. She is
_willing_ to work at a place like this after she gets both her degrees. She
priced herself out of a better economy when she chose to apply to retail jobs.

The problem is that propaganda preaches employment and jobs. People feel
pressured to get a job, and therefore desperate for _any_ job. This irrational
self-deprecation artificially increases supply in the entry-level labor
market, pushing down the price of labor.

As retail becomes automated, employees become overqualified. Literally,
"anyone could do that." If anyone can build widgets, then widget factories can
hire anyone. If a factory can hire anyone, then it only needs to match the
lowest price demanded by a potential employee.

It's a cycle. Automation displaces jobs, employees become overqualified, most
do not have savings to sustain long job search, so they become desperate,
apply for underqualified job, lower price of job itself.

The bottom rung of the employment ladder is like those blocks you need to jump
on in old Mario games. You know, the ones that move up and down, you need to
jump on them at the right place, and then jump off them at the right time to
get to the next platform. You're not supposed to stay on the bottom rung.
You're supposed to get on it, then jump off it.

The focus of entry-level employment should be on career-development and
opportunity expansion. As an employer, recognize that no employee wants to
stay in entry-level forever. How can you help your employees expand their set
of opportunities?

~~~
jazzyk
"She is willing to work.." What the heck are you talking about? She needs to
pay her rent and eat. Once you get into a hamster wheel of minimum-wage
supposed-to-be-only-temporary job, it is VERY hard to look for a better job.
It is a real problem everywhere, but even more so in the US, where college
education cost is insane and adds to the pressure of taking ANY job.

