NEWS: Redefining the McJob

CULTURE: Redefining the McJob

Normally, if a controversial international babillion dollar corporation is seeking to change the language, it would be cause for alarm. The idea smacks of corporate, Orwellian mind control tactics. Alarmist outcry seems justified.



But if it's McDonald's trying to rebrand the word McJob, I say fuck it. Go with it.



Currently, the word is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, the Bible for word usage and coinage, as "an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector." The British branch of McDonald's is preparing a public petition to get the definition changed, continuing a year-old effort to change public perception of McEmployment. Similar actions were taken by their American corporate counterparts in 2003, to no avail.



According to the OED, the word was first used in print in 1986 by the Washington Post. Of course, it gained a lot of cultural currency when it was used in Douglas Coupland's 1991 debut novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, a document that has aged about as well as a Roxette cassingle. As much as I honestly do like Coupland's writing, that initially over-praised book is so culturally irrelevant now it's fairly repellent. Thinking on it now, I'd like to throttle the book's rootless, culturally alienated characters and ask them how 9-11 affected their middle class ennui.



Is the term McJob as anachronistic as the rest of the book, though? I think so. A Nexis search for instances of the word "McJob" in news articles in the last two years revealed that while the word was often used in the OED sense, mostly it was used as short hard for jobs at fast food joints, most often at McDonald's. (A lot of articles were about Kevin Smith, which is interesting, but not surprising.)



There's no way to quantify how McJob or any other slang word is used colloquially. Still, I'm pretty sure the last time I heard the word come out of someone's mouth, 4 Non Blondes was playing on a top 40 radio station. I



The amateur cultural gatekeepers scurrying over Wikipedia apparently don't give a shit about the term either - much of the entry for McJob is a defense of burger flipping gigs, including quotes from former McDonald's CEO James Cantalupo.



We should let McDonald's have its stupid word. In return, we'll keep "burger flipping," "dead-end jobs" and the knowledge that working at McDonald's sucks.

God forbid they actually change the parameters of McDonald's jobs so that they no longer fit the definition.

McDonalds has probably already paid to have the Wki entry changed to meet their corpotate expectations.

As for the term, railing against it as much as they like, their lawyers must realize that they can have no sway over language unless they start paying their burger flippers $20+ an hour.

That would change the meaning of the word pretty quick.

Perhaps WalJob would be the modern equivalent though. I believe McJobs may actually pay more than some WalJobs... Plus, there doesn't seem to be a barrier into management for women with a McJob.

McDonald's wants the entry changed to:

McJob: [n], any exciting, fast-paced job with limitless growth staffed by charming young people and hip senior citizens. Example: How's my McJob? Why dadadadadahh I'm lovin' it!!

Douglas Coupland is like five different kinds of God.

Additionally, they can change the dictionary definition all they want, but until they get around to changing the quality-of-work conditions themselves, everyone will still know exactly what the fuck it means.

I just burst out laughing in the middle of the library.

I think they actually get paid more than I do

Dammit man, when are you not full of cheeky wit?

I mean that in all seriousness. I busted out laughing @this one.

-TM

Do you believe in magic?

i kinda liked it when i worked at mcdonalds

sure i got fat and i smelt after work, but i ate my weight in Mcnuggets and drunk so much coke it became a problem, but i was happy

I think gen x is still current. lost losers doing nothing with their lives...

I worship the man.

McDonalds' suggested new word?


The BK Toiler.

If you look at from 30,000 feet it seems to me that the US has not much to offer for the future in jobs for a "middle class" that many of our parents had in the 50's and 60's. No corporation is creating it. There will always be a corporation that will feed at the bottom for what ever short time to scrape the last off. I'm beginning to wonder if we are not where it is at, economically........

Arn't McJobs by definition Deamening lets see:

McJob:
"an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector."

Yea I think Demeaning would fit there also

I have a McJob and honistly id rather do Mike Rowe's laundry.

McFat
McTrans-fatty-acid
McCalorie

For the manufacturing sector,

Wu-Job
Li-Job
Chen-Job