McJob is slang 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 or "jobby jobs." The term McJob comes from the name of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's, but is used to describe any low-status job — regardless of who the employer is — where little training is required, staff turnover is high, and where workers' activities are tightly regulated by managers. Most perceived McJobs are in the service industry, particularly fast food, coffee shops, and retail sales. Working at a low paying job, especially one at a fast food restaurant, is also often referred to as flipping burgers. Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... A fast-food restaurant is a restaurant characterized both by food which is supplied quickly after ordering, and by minimal service. ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, french fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. ... Training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relates to specific useful skills. ... In business management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of their employees, generally used as a pejorative term. ... The tertiary sector of industry, also called the service sector or the service industry, is one of the three main industrial categories of a developed economy, the others being the secondary industry (manufacturing and primary goods production such as agriculture), and primary industry (extraction such as mining and fishing). ... Fast food is food prepared and served quickly at a fast-food restaurant or shop at low cost. ... A drawing of a self-service store Retailing consists of the sale of goods/merchandise for personal or household consumption either from a fixed location such as a department store or kiosk, or away from a fixed location and related subordinated services (Definition of the WTO (last page). ...

History

McJob was in use at least as early as 1986, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it as "An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector."^[1] The prefix "Mc" in the term is an allusion to the fast-food chain McDonald's, the archetypical unskilled workplace. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of...

The term was first coined by the sociologist Amitai Etzioni in the Washington Post in August 24, 1986 under the title McJobs are Bad for Kids [2][3]. It was popularized in 1991 in Douglas Coupland's novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture as one of the margin definitions, described 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".^[2] But the novel never uses the term in reference to McDonald's. Andy, the book's narrator, uses the term only once, in reference to the bartending job that his friend Dag does.^[2] Amitai Etzioni. ... Douglas Coupland (born December 30, 1961) is a major Canadian fiction writer as well as a playwright and visual artist. ... Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, published in 1991, is the first novel by Douglas Coupland. ...

The term is used to emphasize the perception that many desirable middle-class jobs are being eliminated,[4] due to such displaced workers often spent many years gaining specialized education, training, and experience, and are reluctant to start over in a new industry at the bottom rung. The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ...

Generally considered as lacking job security, McJobs are typically easier to lose than they are to get. Also, there are often wide variations in how workers are actually treated depending on the local franchise owner. There have been employees who started out as entry-level McJob holders to become assistant managers or managers and continue working at the same franchise for many years, however this is the exception, rather the norm. [5] McDonald's disputes the idea that its restaurant jobs have no prospects, noting that its CEO, Jim Skinner, started working at the company as a regular restaurant employee, and that 20 of its top 50 managers began work as regular crew members. ^[3] An entry-level job is a job that requires very little skill and knowledge and is generally of a low pay. ...

According to Jim Cantalupo, former CEO 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 started life in the working world behind the counter serving customers.[6][7]. Since McDonald's has over 400,000 employees, not to mention high turnover, Cantalupo's contention has been questioned [8] as being invalid, working more to highlight the exception rather than the rule. James Richard Cantalupo (November 14, 1943 - April 19, 2004) was an American executive, serving as chairman and chief executive officer of McDonalds Corporation until his sudden death by heart attack at the age of 60. ... “Chief executive” redirects here. ... Franchising (from the French for honesty or freedom[1]) is a method of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks and tried and proven methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring payment, and usually a percentage piece of gross sales or gross profits as well...

The word McJob was added to the world's best-selling hardcover dictionary, Merriam-Webster, in late 2003 [9] despite the objections of McDonald's. In an open letter to Merriam-Webster, Cantalupo denounced the definition as a "slap in the face" of all restaurant employees, and that "a more appropriate definition of a 'McJob' might be 'teaches responsibility.'" Merriam-Webster stated that "[they stood] by the accuracy and appropriateness of [their] definition." Merriam-Webster, originally known as the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is a United States company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Websters An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2006, McDonald's in the UK undertook an advertising campaign to challenge directly the perceptions of the McJob. The campaign was supported by research conducted by Adrian Furnham, Professor of Psychology at University College London, and highlighted the benefits of working for the organization stating that these benefits were "Not bad for a McJob". So confident were McDonald's of their claims that they even ran the campaign on the giant screens of London's Piccadilly Circus.^[4] Adrian Furnham Adrian Furnham is a British organizational and applied psychologist, management expert and Professor of Psychology at University College, London. ...

On 20 March 2007, the BBC reported that the UK arm of McDonald's is planning a campaign including a public petition to have the dictionary definition of a McJob changed. Lorraine Homer from McDonald's is quoted saying that the firm felt the definition was out of date and inaccurate.^[5] 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". ^[6] These comments ignored the principle, long accepted by all major dictionary compilers, that dictionaries simply record linguistic usage rather than judge it, and that dropping the entry for "McJob" would be a precedent for bowdlerising definitions of other derogatory terms such as "slag", "wog", "paddy", etc., so that those coming across them in literature would be unable to interpret their meaning.[10] McDonald's would prefer the definition to be rewritten to "reflect a job that is stimulating, rewarding ... and offers skills that last a lifetime.".[11][12] is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Look up Petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Thomas Bowdler (July 11, 1754 – February 24, 1825), an English physician, who published The Family Shakespeare, is best known as the source of the eponym bowdlerize (or bowdlerise[1]), the process of expurgation, censorship by removal, of material thought to be unacceptable to the intended audience, especially children or religious...

McJOBS, the trademark

McJOBS (plural, uppercase) was first registered as a trademark 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' by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Following the publication of Generation X in paperback in October 1992, McDonald's restored the trademark. “(TM)” redirects here. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... PTO headquarters in Alexandria The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent and trademark protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions and corporate and product identification. ...

During the aforementioned arguments that broke out when Merriam-Webster included "McJob" in its new entries, McDonald's officials implied the company might bring a lawsuit against the dictionary based on this trademark issue, but never went through with it.[13] There is even an online petition started by the company.[14][15] Merriam-Webster, originally known as the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is a United States company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Websters An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). ... It has been suggested that civil trial be merged into this article or section. ...

See also

Wikinews has related news:

McDonald's petitions Oxford English Dictionary to remove the word McJob

• Contingent work
• McWords
  • McDonaldization
  • McMansion
  • McChurch
  • McBrother
• Permatemp
• McLibel
• McOndo

• Maxime, McDuff & McDo - a 2002 French language documentary (w/English subtitles) about the troubles of unionizing a McDonald's in Montreal.
• My Secret Life on the McJob is a 2006 book describing management lessons discovered by the author (Jerry Newman) when he worked undercover in several fast food venues.

Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... McDonaldization is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society. ... A McMansion under construction McMansion is a slang architectural term which first came into use in the United States during the 1980s as a pejorative description. ... McChurch is a McWord used to suggest that a particular church has a strong element of entertainment, consumerism or commercialism which obscures its religious aspects. ... McBrother is a word describing attempts by corporations or governments to redefine the landscape of a language by any of several means, including petitions, court-ordered action, or viral marketing/media efforts. ... A permatemp is an employee whose status is somewhere between a temporary employee and a permanent employee. ... The McLibel case is the nickname for an English court action filed by McDonalds Corporation against unemployed environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris. ... A recent Latin American literary movement that seeks to distance itself from Latin Americas long-dominant magic realist literary tradition and to pull itself out from the shadow of literary giant Gabriel Garcia Marquez. ... Maxime, McDuff & McDo is the title of a 2002 French language (w/English subtitles) documentary film that shows the attempt of unionizing a McDonalds restaurant in Montreal Canada. ... My Secret Life on the McJob is a book by Jerry Newman about low-wage work in fast-food outlets. ...

References

1. ^ "Merriam-Webster: 'McJob' is here to stay". The Associated Press. November 11, 2003.
2. ^ ^{a b} Coupland, Douglas. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. St Martin's Press, 1991. p. 5 ISBN 0-312-05436-X
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ "Not bad for a McJob?" Management Issues. June 8, 2006
5. ^ BBC. "McDonald's seeks McJob rewrite", 2007-03-20. Retrieved on 2007-03-20. 
6. ^ CNN International, 24 March 2007.

For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• McDonald's Has Beef with the Oxford English Dictionary
• McJob status hard to break
• The flip side of a McJob
• A McJob is a good job
• McDonald's tries to keep workers from flipping jobs
• McDonald's New TV Ad Fights 'McJob' Image