Question

1. List three characteristics that lead to greater job satisfaction among workers and discuss how they might vary by age, gender, and race.

2. Define outsourced family and provide two examples.

3. Describe what is meant by the terms household work and caring work. What types of activities do these terms refer to?

4. Describe a work environment where members feel excluded based on their gender and/or sexuality and/or identity? What changes are needed in this work environment to make it more inclusive?

Part 2: Mid-Length Answer (minimum length is ½ page (double spaced) – could take you 1-1.5 pages)

1. Define alienation and describe why it occurs using Marxism, the social-psychological perspective, Robert Blauner, and Richard Sennett. Describe how you would use intersectionality to explain why certain workers feel more alienation than others.

Part 3: Long Answer (minimum length would be 1 page – double spaced)

2. There are many connections that can be made between COVID-19 and work. Thinking about the topics that we’ve discussed in class (LGBTQ2S+; racial discrimination at work; job satisfaction, alienation, work-related stress; unsafe work and work related injuries; household, family, caring work; and, precarious work), what are some issues facing workers? Use a theory to explain what workers are facing today in the midst of COVID-19. Identify some of the most vulnerable workers right now and explain why they are vulnerable. What can be done to protect the most vulnerable workers (policy changes, physical/structural changes, attitude changes, social changes, etc.)?

Answer 1

Answer: For Small Questions:

1. For a greater job satisfaction, the worker should be given good recognition in the company, he should get respect from others, good pay, job security, trust between employees and management. This may vary by age:

• Employees from 20 to 35: Recognition and motivation. Praise and recognition. Ability to explore and use their fullest potential.
• Employees from 35 to 50: Fair compensation, recognition, respect.
• Employees 50 and above: Job security, trust, recognition, good pay.

Gender:

• Female: Job security, good place to work with, respect from other employees and management.
• Male: Good pay, good environment, job security.

Race: All the races needs job security, good pay, and respect and recognition from the management and co-workers.

2. Outsourced family can be defined as the business practice for hiring a party or people outside the company to perform particular services or get some goods which have been done by the family previously. Examples are:

• Accounting.
• Marketing.
• Content writing.

3. Household work refers to the works in a house to be done like washing clothes, cleaning the house, cleaning vessels, gardening, cooking, etc.

Caring work refers to the care taken by the outsider for a particular person like taking care of the children in the house or taking care of an elderly person; where the caretaker takes care of the person right from bathing the person, feeding, playing with them, going out with them, taking care of their health, etc.

4. In a work environment, members feel excluded when their point of view is not taken into account for the growth of the company, they are not given proper recognition and respect.

• For example, the security guard in any company wishes everyday to everyone, but very less people only responds to him to say good morning to him. This might make that person inferior; to make him feel inclusive, just say good morning, when he wishes to you. That gives much pleasure to his job of guarding the office for the whole day.
• In any office, the employees should get equal opportunity to express their views and also express their grievances.

Part 2: Answer for question.

Alienation refers to the theoretical concept by Karl Marx which describes the isolation, loss of control and disconnect over a process or thing, this happened in the capitalist society.

According to Robert Blauner, alienation occurs in an industry where the

• Workers were considered powerless.
• Their work is considered meaningless.
• The workers are not allowed for any social group.
• They should not express their view point.

According to Richard Sennett: alienation occurs in an industry, where

• No recognition of workers' work.
• No motivation has been given by their management.
• There is a big gap between employees and workers.

Intersectionality: Means and refers to the social classifications like class, gender, race related to a particular group which overlaps the other for a particular situation say for example decision making, etc.

For a company or industry, alienation happens in the daily wage workers, cleaners, helpers, women workers in lower rank, people from underprivileged group, etc. feel more alienation than others because of the recognition and respect they get from the management would be very poor in most of the instances.

Part 3: Long Answer:

The issues people facing in all the works given in the questions were they have to travel a lot from their house to office/workplace, they need to travel by public transport, they hold something for support in the bus while traveling, they buy tickets from conductor, they socialize with people on the way, they buy groceries/papers, milk, etc on the way, they use lifts, they need to wash their hands immediately (would forget often) when entering to the workplace, should close their face safely.

Doctors and nurses who meet the COVID-19 patients everyday has the possibility of getting the disease. Apart from that some of the most vulnerable workers right now are:

• Helpers and assistants in the company.
• Adults above 60 years of age.
• People with heart disease, hypertension, diabetes or any chronic illness.
• People with unstable employment or do any work as a daily wage.
• Social workers who need to travel a lot and help others.
• Drivers for the company.
• Marketing people.

To protect the most vulnerable workers:

• We need to provide instructions how to take care of them and in particular how to wash hands properly and cover their face while coughing and socializing with others.
• Social workers should be provided with food, drinks, on time.
• Helpers and assistants, volunteers should be provided with masks, gloves, and other needed things for their safety.
• Follow the instructions carefully.
• Proper guidance should be given by the doctors and other people who are in charge of those activities.
• Isolated people should be strictly followed as per the instructions given.
• Regular checkups should be done to ensure they don’t have the disease.