McJob: fun, well-regarded, much-desired employ?
A Guardian commentary column reports that McDonald’s is picking a fight with the dictionary. The fast-food chain doesn’t like the Oxford English Dictionary definition of “McJob,” which, in the Canadian version, is: “a low paying, low status, and usually unstimulating job with few benefits and little possibility of advancement.” The BBC credits Douglas Coupland with coining the term in 1991’s Generation X.
According to McDonald’s, however, its jobs are only awesome, so the chain wants the word eliminated. Last year, the Golden Arches launched a publicity campaign in the U.K. to redefine McJob and “set the record straight,” said an April 21, 2006, press release. Posters were splashed around that declared, “McProspects – over half our Executive Team started in our restaurants. Not bad for a McJob,” and “McOpportunity – two pay reviews in your first year. Not bad for a McJob.”
But, strangely enough, those clever taglines don’t seem to have been persuasive. And so the chain has locked its sights on the OED. You can sign a petition here to “change the current definition of McJob to better reflect the reality of service sector jobs.” Go now, to beat the rush!
I say to McDonalds “the truth hurts.” And why should a business be so touchy? In my view, that is unprofessional behavior. No one expects a fast-food restaurant to be anything but a low-paying job for young people, or uneductated, unskilled people. The same can be said for all fast-food chains. Only the franchisee or the manager make a living wage.
If people need a better-paying job, they need postsecondary education, or wealthy parents, or a trade.
It would probably be more effective, in campaigning against a word, not to use the word within the campaign itself…
Besides, the OED doesn’t control or create words, it reflects usages and neologisms. McDonald’s repeated use of the term only gives it further cites.
I’ve never worked in Burgerworld, but from what I hear from friends who have, Wendy’s is a far worse place to work than Scrawny Ronnie’s. Of all the McJobs around where I grew up, the ones at McDonalds were actually far better than most, because there were regular pay reviews and increases. I spent five summers (1991-1995) slinging ice cream for a local franchise and my only increases over the first three summers came as a result of increases to the min. wage ($4.35-$4.75) and promotions to supervisor ($5.50) in the fourth and assistant manager ($7.00–but it would’ve been $6.25 had I not insisted on more) in the fifth. The only reason the McJob name has stuck is the catchiness of McDonald’s own ad campaigns and marketing tricks, McThis, McThat. Big McDeal.
It is interesting that many people have not actually worked for McDonald’s and yet they think they can comment. Where do you think Managers come from if it isn’t from the ranks of the “unskilled” workers? McDonald’s offers OTJ training and business classes that are equal to college courses. When a person completes the courses they earn real college credits. McDonald’s offers opportunities to people that may otherwise not know what they are capable of achieving. They may not have the means or ability to just run off to College. It offers opportunities to people that are unsure of what they want to do, from the teenage mom to unemployed Intel workers. There is money to be made at the Management level. By learning from the ground floor and moving up in the ranks a person gains knowledge and experience that is always transferable to any leadership position with any company. Yes, McJob may be grounded in McMarketing, but the word should be defined correctly and not be Mcmisrepresented.