When we think of our job and what labor it entails, do we think about the toll it will take on our bodies? I did not think of the physical toll my body would face when I accepted my job. I did not think I would be expected to do the job that they specifically hire men for due to the physical demand of the position. Due to the lack of employees that can fulfill the position, I am expected to do this position where my body takes the toll. I have physically been injured by this job, but my employer does not care, and expects me to come back to the job and do it again. Jobs and the working field is a demanding but necessary field we have to deal with. We are all chasing a paycheck and sometimes we are killing our bodies in the process. Not only are we dealing with the physical demand of the job, but we also have the emotional labor that comes with it. At the end of a shift, I am always beat whether it be physically or emotionally. The emotional labor is especially hard when you work in retail because people tend to treat you poorly, but you have to act in a certain way to meet their needs. I hate the idea that we as employees have to treat the customers nicely regardless of how they treat us, because if I was not working and someone treated me the way they would if I was working, I would not approach the situation the same way, I would be rude back. When we apply for jobs and are accepting job offers, we tend to overlook the physical and emotional labor demand because of the paycheck or the benefits from the job. We can see that some jobs that require more physical demands can pay more to make the job seem “worth it”. For me personally, working at a young age and as someone who has had jobs in multiple fields has seen firsthand how jobs can take a toll on your body physically and emotionally, but have also had a strong impact on what my body is today.
Unruly Bodies 
I really like and appreciate your perspective on jobs and the capitalist mindset that has been ingrained in us from particularly young ages. I, too, hold resentment towards the belief that more laborious work is justified through a good paycheck. Recently, I had someone in my life seek a construction job where the cheap ass boss tried paying 14/hr which is almost an insult compared to the toll blue collar jobs have on the body as well as the mind. Burnout is very real, I understand your struggle.
I can sympathize with this and I think a lot of other people can as well. I was working over the summer as a delivery driver for a multimillion dollar company and they were paying me $18.25 an hour to load and deliver packages that varied from light to super heavy. This started taking a toll on my back and to be honest I may have permanent side effects from working there. Later in my time working for them, I was T-boned by a pickup truck and on top of me being found at fault for the accident and having to pay $130 and get two points put onto my license, THEY FIRED ME. Corporations and employers in general just see employees as replaceable, they don’t see us as people.
I don’t know what your line of work is but I do know from personal experience that working with the general public can be oh so thankless and seldom rewarding. It is absolutely unacceptable that managers or other higher-ups care more about customers bringing in money that about their own emplyees. I have seen it time and time again. For one thing, workers do not get paid enough to be abused by customers and certsainly should not have to deal with being insulted and overworked by their supervisors who are supposed to be behind them 100%.
Depending on the work environment and individual factors, one might be more prone to get sick or become prone to other ailments. If this person is otherwise reliable and a good worker, they should be allowed to miss a few days to take care of themselves as necessary. The hypocracy of managers can be truly astounding. It’s alway “we’re a [work] family.” I can only hope that’s not how they think family ought to be treated.
As for customers, the entitlement is unreal. The entitlemrnt almost always comes from those who have never worked that kind of job in their life or they would probably (hopefully) have some empathy and patience.
You can be a good, reliable, and diligent worker but don’t let people walk all over you. That, I know, is easier said than done.
Your comment highlights an often overlooked part of having a job, the physical and emotional toll it can take on individuals. This is the first semester that I decided to keep working while going to school and I never realized how much a strain just working and trying to do good in school put on me. I’ve never been more tired in my life.
I can totally relate to this. I’m actually writing my reply while I’m at work now. The last job that I had was extremely taxing mentally and emotionally. My back and legs ached everyday, and the pay wasn’t even that good. Dealing with rude customers was something that genuinely would upset me even after I left the job. I think that people don’t realize how much it gets under your skin and make you feel bad when someone talks down to you. Overall is it worth it? No, I don’t think so. But sometimes we’re put in a position where we have no choice but to sacrifice our bodies and mental health.
I would work at we would be packed for hours on hours and all I could think about was when is it gonna end? When it eventually does we’re just supposed to pick up the pieces like it wasn’t tiring or stressful and keep going. The thing I think about most while working is what goes through a person’s mind when they see a busy place? Me personally I think “I know those workers are tired I’m just gonna get something less busy” but many people aren’t willing to settle or give up what they want to be kinder to their fellow person. I think many people believe “well it’s their job” but nobody wants to be worked to the brink of exhaustion. Dealing with people can be exhausting itself let alone also work.
I agree, with this so much. Because I have also had a similar situation with my current job. I’ve been working at this job for almost 3 years now. I’ve only stayed there for so long because I was able to get a rise of $16.50 and able to get good tips. But this job would physically and mentally drain me a lot. I had to do many things, like train new employees, restock boxes, clean, close the store, etc. But the thing I struggled with most when working there was my anxiety. I would always get yelled at when I was just trying to help the customer, but I had just assumed it was normal since it was my first job. But over time I became more stressed and my anxiety began to get worse. Then my manager fired me at that moment I was mad because I had put all that time and effort into their business but later realized that they were never worth it from the begging.
I also have a very demanding job where I am standing for nine hours straight or moving around heavy loads of inventory. At the end of those days I would have to just plop on my bed with my feet throbbing. I also have to deal with people who don’t understand policies so I know how mad you would be about that. I hope you get a better boss who treats you better and is actually understanding of your physical capabilities because it’s not right to brush an employee off if they are injured.
I felt your blog on a deep personal level. The physical and emotional toll we are expected to have is bonkers. Even when we talk about the hardships we have with some friends or family it is met with “yeah that’s the way the world is” or “same but the grind don’t stop”. This conditioning is so deeply rooted into people because of the capitalistic society we live in even though everyone can agree that having to give your body to an employer day in and day out is draining and honestly dangerous at times.
I really liked how you mentioned not considering the physical and emotional labor that comes with a lot of general public or customer service jobs. I definitely resonate with this experience as I worked a seemingly good paying job over the summer. I worked as a server where the tips were good but the job was extremely exhausting. I wasn’t allowed to sit down on my shift at all and I had to deal with extremely entitled managers. It felt as if my managers were entitled to my body while I was at work and it made me rethink why I even got the job in the first place and if money was really that important to obtain.
These are some valid points which are universal labor of all kinds. Emotional, mental, and physical are equally harmful things for the average person, not to mention the struggles of others that do not fit within the social standard of our time. Throughout time, the social aspect of work and what we are expected to constantly push our boundaries for someone else or a soulless company that sees you as a producer for a product that continues capitalism. We continue the economy with our bodies for a paycheck that is not comparable to what we should be earning because the rest is going to the select group, creating a corrupt system to funnel finance to themselves. The lack of adequate return of our time and energy is beyond depressing, which is why the idea of “quite quitting” exists. I understand and participate in it to an extent, but not in a way that harms my coworkers and the people around me. The problem for me is when my coworkers impact my work because of their participation in the concept. Either way, our laws need to change to give back to the bodies that sacrifice themselves to these companies alive with products and money which improve the health of our society.