McJob is slang Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo . It is also used to identify with one's peers for a low-paying, low-prestige job that requires few skills and offers very little chance of intracompany advancement. Such jobs are also known as contingent work Contingent work, also sometimes known as casual work, is a neologism which describes a type of employment relationship between an employer and employee. There is no universally agreed consensus on what type of working arrangement constitutes contingent work, but it is generally considered to be any one or combination of the following:.^[1] The term McJob comes from the name of the fast-food restaurant A fast food restaurant, sometimes known as a quick service restaurant or QSR, is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service. Food served in fast food restaurants typically caters to a "meat-sweet diet" and is offered from a limited menu; is cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is one of the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily, but is used to describe any low-status job — regardless of the employer — where little training The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology . In addition to the basic training is required, staff turnover In a human resources context, turnover or labor turnover is the rate at which an employer gains and loses employees. Simple ways to describe it are "how long employees tend to stay" or "the rate of traffic through the revolving door." Turnover is measured for individual companies and for their industry as a whole. If an is high, and workers' activities are tightly regulated by managers In business management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of his or her subordinates or employees. Micromanagement is generally used as a negative term. Most perceived McJobs are in the service industry The tertiary sector of economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector (approximately manufacturing) and the primary sector (extraction such as mining, agriculture and fishing). The general definition of the tertiary sector is producing a service instead of just an end product, in the case of the secondary, particularly fast food Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. The term ", coffee shops, telemarketing, retail Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce, a "retailer" and business-to-business Business-to-business describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G) copywriting. Working at a low paying job, especially one at a fast food restaurant, is also referred to as flipping burgers.

History

"McJob" was in use at least as early as 1986, according to the Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is a dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. As of December 2008[update], the editors had completed one quarter of a third edition (OED), which defines it as "An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector."^[2] Lack of job security is common.

The term was coined by sociologist Amitai Etzioni Amitai Etzioni is a German-Israeli-American sociologist, and appeared in the Washington Post The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation on August 24, 1986 in the article "McJobs are Bad for Kids".^[3][4] The term was popularized by Douglas Coupland Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and Generation X. He has published thirteen novels, a collection's 1991 novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, described therein as "a low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one."^[5]

The term appears in the 1994 novel Interface (by Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk. He has also written with his uncle, George Jewsbury ("J. Frederick George"), under the collective pseudonym of Stephen Bury and George Jewsbury) to describe in the abstract positions that are briefly held and underpaid. In the 1999 British film Human Traffic Human Traffic is a British independent film written and directed by Welsh filmmaker Justin Kerrigan. The film explores themes of coming of age, drug and club cultures, as well as relationships. It includes scenes provoking social commentary and the use of archive footage to provide political commentary. The plot of the film revolves around five, one character's work in a generic burger outlet is referred to as a McJob.

There are often wide variations in how workers are actually treated depending on the local franchise owner. Some employees start out in entry-level McJobs and later become assistant managers or managers, continuing to work at the same franchise for many years; however this is the exception rather than the norm.^[6] McDonald's advertises that its CEO, Jim Skinner, began working at the company as a regular restaurant employee, and that 20 of its top 50 managers began work as regular crew members.^[7]

According to Jim Cantalupo, former CEO A chief executive officer or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer (executive) or administrator in charge of total management of an organization. An individual appointed as CEO of a corporation, company, organization, or agency reports to the board of directors of McDonald's, the perception of fast-food work being boring and mindless is inaccurate, and over 1,000 of the men and women who now own McDonald's franchises Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-french derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb began behind the counter.^[6][8] Because McDonald's has over 400,000 employees and high turnover, Cantalupo's contention has been criticized as being invalid, working to highlight the exception rather than the rule.^[9]

The term "McJob" was added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Webster's Dictionary is the name given to a common type of English language dictionary in the United States. The name is derived from lexicographer Noah Webster and has become a genericized trademark for this type of dictionary in 2003 2003 was a common year that started on a Wednesday, according to the Gregorian calendar. It was the 2003rd year of the Common Era or the Anno Domini designation; the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 4th of the 2000s decade,^[10] over the objections of McDonald's. In an open letter to Merriam-Webster, Cantalupo denounced the definition as a "slap in the face" to all restaurant employees, and stated that "a more appropriate definition of a 'McJob' might be 'teaches responsibility.'" Merriam-Webster responded that "[they stood] by the accuracy and appropriateness of [their] definition."

In 2006, McDonald's undertook an advertising campaign in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land to challenge the perceptions of the McJob. The campaign, developed by Barkers Advertising and supported by research conducted by Adrian Furnham, professor of psychology at University College London University College London is a constituent college of the University of London, based primarily in Bloomsbury in the London Borough of Camden, highlighted the benefits of working for the organization, stating that they were "Not bad for a McJob". So confident were McDonald's of their claims that they ran the campaign on the giant screens of London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,'s Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction. Coordinates: 51°30′36″N 0°8′.^[11]

On 20 March 2007, the BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world. Its global headquarters are located in London and its main responsibility is to provide public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster that operates under a Royal reported that the UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land arm of McDonald's planned a public petition A petition is a request to change something, most commonly made to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer to have the OED's definition of "McJob" changed.^[12][13] Lorraine Homer from McDonald's stated that the company feels the definition is "out of date and inaccurate".^[14] McDonald's UK CEO, Peter Beresford, described the term as "demeaning to the hard work and dedication displayed by the 67,000 McDonald's employees throughout the UK".^[15] The company would prefer the definition to be rewritten to "reflect a job that is stimulating, rewarding ... and offers skills that last a lifetime."^[16][17] These comments run counter to the principle that dictionaries simply record linguistic usage rather than judge it, and that dropping the entry for "McJob" would be a precedent for bowdlerising Thomas Bowdler (11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work that he considered to be more appropriate for women and children than the original. He similarly edited Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His expurgation was the subject of some criticism definitions of other derogatory terms.^[16]

During the aforementioned arguments that broke out when Merriam-Webster Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language included "McJob" in its new edition, McDonald's officials implied the company might bring a lawsuit A lawsuit, or "suit in law", is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment will be given in the against the dictionary based on this trademark issue, but never did so. McDonald's disputes that its jobs are poor, because the company has been nominated for employee awards that are created by employers.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]} However, this was contradicted in the outcome of the UK McLibel court case, in which the judges ruled that it was fair to say that McDonald's employees worldwide "do badly in terms of pay and conditions".^[25]

McJOBS, the trademark

McJOBS (plural, uppercase) was first registered as a trademark A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities by McDonald's on May 16, 1984, as a name and image for "training handicapped persons as restaurant employees". The trademark lapsed in February 1992, and was declared "Canceled"^[26] by the United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification. Following the October 1992 publication of Generation X in paperback, McDonald's restored the trademark.^[27][28]

See also

• Contingent work Contingent work, also sometimes known as casual work, is a neologism which describes a type of employment relationship between an employer and employee. There is no universally agreed consensus on what type of working arrangement constitutes contingent work, but it is generally considered to be any one or combination of the following:
• Maxime, McDuff & McDo, a 2002 French documentary about unionization of a McDonald's in Montreal
• McWords A McWord is a word containing the prefix Mc-, derived from the first syllable of the name of the McDonald's restaurant chain. Words of this nature are either official marketing terms of the chain , or are neologisms designed to evoke pejorative associations with the restaurant chain or fast food in general, often for qualities of cheapness,
• My Secret Life on the McJob, a 2006 book describing management lessons learned by the author, Jerry Newman, when he worked undercover in several fast food venues
• Permatemp A permatemp is an employee whose status is somewhere between a temporary employee and a permanent employee. The word is a portmanteau of the words permanent and temporary. It is sort of a tongue-in-cheek textual contrivance poking fun at the dynamics of the New Economy with its characteristic job insecurity and lack of benefits for a considerable
• Quality Reference Guide

References

1. ^ ""McJob" - entry in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary". http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mcjob. Retrieved Feb. 12, 2010.
2. ^ "Merriam-Webster: 'McJob' is here to stay". The Associated Press. November 11, 2003.
3. ^ B170
4. ^ McJobs Are Good for Kids
5. ^ Coupland, Douglas. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. St Martin's Press, 1991. p. 5 ISBN 0-312-05436-X
6. ^ ^{a b} My Day on the Breakfast Shift
7. ^ 09/21/05 - McDonald's Debuts Advertising on the World of Opportunity Under the Golden Arches
8. ^ "McDonald's anger over McJob entry". BBC News. 2003-11-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3255883.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
9. ^ McJobs are giving Britain a reputation as Europe's offshore banana republic
10. ^ CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/11/11/offbeat.mcjob.ap/.
11. ^ "Not bad for a McJob?" Management Issues. June 8, 2006
12. ^ McDonald's McJob Petition
13. ^ BBC NEWS | Talk about Newsnight | “Gis a McJob”
14. ^ BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world. Its global headquarters are located in London and its main responsibility is to provide public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster that operates under a Royal (2007-03-20). "McDonald's seeks McJob rewrite". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6469707.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
15. ^ "CNN International, 24 March 2007". http://www.cnn.com.
16. ^ ^{a b} "Can McDonald's Alter the Dictionary?". Time. 2007-06-05. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1628391,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
17. ^ "A new McDefinition?". The Guardian (London). 2007-05-24. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2007/05/a_new_mcdefinition.html. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
18. ^ Britain's Top Employers 2008 - McDonald's Restaurants Ltd Company Profile
19. ^ The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers - The Top 100
20. ^ FT.com / Reports / Best workplaces 2007
21. ^ http://www.caterersearch.com/onlineteam/bptw/index.html
22. ^ wheretowork.com - Jobs recruitment employment vacancies careers
23. ^ Employer of the Year Awards 2006
24. ^ McDonald's shrugs off 'McJob curse' to win Best Place to Work in Hospitality Award
25. ^ Press Release - McLibel Support Campaign; 25th March 1999
26. ^ Original trademark status from the USPTO TARR system
27. ^ Restored trademark status from the USPTO TARR system
28. ^ Press Release - McLibel Support Campaign; 25th March 1999

External links

• McJob status hard to break
• The flip side of a McJob
• A McJob is a good job
• McDonald's New TV Ad Fights 'McJob' Image
• McDonald's 'A-level' is launched

Categories: McDonald's | McWords | Neologisms | Food services occupations | Anti-globalization | Business ethics | Community organizing | Corporate crime | Employment | Globalization | Industrial Workers of the World | Labor | Labor history | Labour relations | Working conditions | Feminism and social class | Words coined in the 1980s

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