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I suspect most of that kind of stuff is automated now. Is that better? Those guys made good money for the type of work they were doing. Now they're working a

by gozur88 10y ago

I suspect most of that kind of stuff is automated now. Is that better? Those guys made good money for the type of work they were doing. Now they're working at Starbucks or faking a back injury for disability.

mercer 10y ago
Lots of work that could be automated still isn't. Furthermore, there are many jobs that are not technically factory work, but are essentially the same: dehumanizing, boring, conveyor-belt style work where you're treated like a robot. I did tons of those types of jobs growing up, my little sister does so currently, and I've met quite a few highly educated adults who are miserable being stuck in this kind of job. One good example would be the Amazon fulfillment center work, of which there are many articles online that paint a picture that I find horrifying. Another example that might not come to mind right away when you think 'factory work' is call centers. A friend of mine has a law degree but because she couldn't find work she ended up at a call center. While the work is less physically taxing, it's in some ways worse than a lot of factory work. She can't go on auto-pilot because she's talking to people, but at the same time she's forced to approach it as dumb factory work. Just complicated enough that you can't tune out, but boring enough that it gives no satisfaction. Aside from high quotas, they track bathroom breaks and if she crosses some (equally unreasonable) threshold a manager will have a 'friendly chat' about it. Aside from the fact that I've never met anyone who makes 'good money' doing this type of work, I personally don't blame anyone who does this long enough to eventually fake a disability or something. In fact, I'll happily keep paying high taxes if it supports that kind of 'disability'. No human should be forced to do that kind of stuff in this day and age, least of all in a developed nation. That said, I think the 'faking disability to avoid factory work' type of person is mostly conjured up in support of particular political views. I'm just saying I'd not even be mad if it were the case.
- TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
  These jobs are really important for an equal, balanced economy, too. Not everyone has the mental capacity or discipline to get a highly technical career, but plenty can do this kind of work. This leads to a higher demand for lower class work, which raises lower class wages and lowers poverty. A major problem in the US is that most of these kinds of jobs have either been shipped overseas or concentrated to a few urban areas in the country. This combined with a few other things have gutted demand for lower class work, which lowers lower class wages and adds to the inequality in the country.
- gozur88 10y ago
  I did that kind of work in my teens and twenties as well, and my impression at the time was every job is a shitty job right up until it isn't there any more. There's been a lot of discussion about heroin and suicide and the soda economy on HN - that sort of stuff makes the affected communities long for the days of soul-crushing factory work. >That said, I think the 'faking disability to avoid factory work' type of person is mostly conjured up in support of particular political views. I'm just saying I'd not even be mad if it were the case. I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but let me explain why I included that: In a lot of small towns that used to have coal mines or were factory towns for one company there simply are no jobs, so it's not that they're faking disability to get out of factory work. They're faking disability because they need money and they don't want to move away from everything and everyone they've ever known.
- aanm1988 10y ago
  I worked in a call center for a couple of years when I was still in school. I hated it so very much. We had to do credit checks and stuff, so they wouldn't let us have anything to do when it was slow. Towards the end of my time there they changed something and we started getting more call volume, that sucked. It became just hours and hours of talking about the same thing again and again. > Aside from the fact that I've never met anyone who makes 'good money' doing this type of work, I personally don't blame anyone who does this long enough to eventually fake a disability or something. In fact, I'll happily keep paying high taxes if it supports that kind of 'disability'. No human should be forced to do that kind of stuff in this day and age, least of all in a developed nation. So apparently the call center in the bigger city a few hundred miles away had a union. Doubt it made the work better but they were getting several dollars an hour more than us. We got 10+bonus, they were getting 15 or something.

by gozur88 10y ago

mercer 10y ago

Lots of work that could be automated still isn't. Furthermore, there are many jobs that are not technically factory work, but are essentially the same: dehumanizing, boring, conveyor-belt style work where you're treated like a robot. I did tons of those types of jobs growing up, my little sister does so currently, and I've met quite a few highly educated adults who are miserable being stuck in this kind of job. One good example would be the Amazon fulfillment center work, of which there are many articles online that paint a picture that I find horrifying. Another example that might not come to mind right away when you think 'factory work' is call centers. A friend of mine has a law degree but because she couldn't find work she ended up at a call center. While the work is less physically taxing, it's in some ways worse than a lot of factory work. She can't go on auto-pilot because she's talking to people, but at the same time she's forced to approach it as dumb factory work. Just complicated enough that you can't tune out, but boring enough that it gives no satisfaction. Aside from high quotas, they track bathroom breaks and if she crosses some (equally unreasonable) threshold a manager will have a 'friendly chat' about it. Aside from the fact that I've never met anyone who makes 'good money' doing this type of work, I personally don't blame anyone who does this long enough to eventually fake a disability or something. In fact, I'll happily keep paying high taxes if it supports that kind of 'disability'. No human should be forced to do that kind of stuff in this day and age, least of all in a developed nation. That said, I think the 'faking disability to avoid factory work' type of person is mostly conjured up in support of particular political views. I'm just saying I'd not even be mad if it were the case.

TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
These jobs are really important for an equal, balanced economy, too. Not everyone has the mental capacity or discipline to get a highly technical career, but plenty can do this kind of work. This leads to a higher demand for lower class work, which raises lower class wages and lowers poverty. A major problem in the US is that most of these kinds of jobs have either been shipped overseas or concentrated to a few urban areas in the country. This combined with a few other things have gutted demand for lower class work, which lowers lower class wages and adds to the inequality in the country.
gozur88 10y ago
I did that kind of work in my teens and twenties as well, and my impression at the time was every job is a shitty job right up until it isn't there any more. There's been a lot of discussion about heroin and suicide and the soda economy on HN - that sort of stuff makes the affected communities long for the days of soul-crushing factory work. >That said, I think the 'faking disability to avoid factory work' type of person is mostly conjured up in support of particular political views. I'm just saying I'd not even be mad if it were the case. I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but let me explain why I included that: In a lot of small towns that used to have coal mines or were factory towns for one company there simply are no jobs, so it's not that they're faking disability to get out of factory work. They're faking disability because they need money and they don't want to move away from everything and everyone they've ever known.
aanm1988 10y ago
I worked in a call center for a couple of years when I was still in school. I hated it so very much. We had to do credit checks and stuff, so they wouldn't let us have anything to do when it was slow. Towards the end of my time there they changed something and we started getting more call volume, that sucked. It became just hours and hours of talking about the same thing again and again. > Aside from the fact that I've never met anyone who makes 'good money' doing this type of work, I personally don't blame anyone who does this long enough to eventually fake a disability or something. In fact, I'll happily keep paying high taxes if it supports that kind of 'disability'. No human should be forced to do that kind of stuff in this day and age, least of all in a developed nation. So apparently the call center in the bigger city a few hundred miles away had a union. Doubt it made the work better but they were getting several dollars an hour more than us. We got 10+bonus, they were getting 15 or something.