From 18 to 22 I worked at McDonald’s for four years. I have worked a combination of part-time and full time over the years and have never found a “better” job. I never went upstairs, I was never a manager, I never accomplished anything important during my time there.
Basically I was the absolute stereotype of a dead McDonald worker. Lazy, stupid, without initiative.
I have seen this stereotype in different ways over the years. The faces of my parents’ friends fell when I told them what I was doing. The malicious comment: “Are you still working at McDonald’s?” or “I could never work in a place like this.” Encouragement from my friends: “Don’t come to work today!” (Because it is not a real job).
And it happened in my own head. He was a terrible worker, very slow, uncomfortable and angry with my situation. Quietly, I decided it was too good for McDonald’s. I thought that my job is shit. But I need money, hahaha.” He was a good student of books that had intellectual conversations. It was not intended for this unnecessary physical work.
I have not improved Nor did I want to improve. Why should I try to be good at something that was under me?
Work-Environment Of The McDonald’s
But after a few years, my attitude began to change.
I was proud of my work. I was wondering what the difference is between McDonald’s and other student startups. Why is my job as unhappy as the others?
Is it because I work for a large company? No, otherwise the jobs at Starbucks or Target would be just as embarrassing.
Or because the business is unethical? H&M and Gap reportedly perform forced labor.
Maybe because I work in fast food? But working at Chipotle is not that bad.
Why are you not an intellectual? No, retail and reception jobs look good.
And then I realized. McDonald’s should be a job for people who can’t do anything else. I noticed that most of the initial jobs did not employ people similar to the ones I had worked for.
McDonald’s included people with disabilities, being overweight, people who were not traditionally attractive, people who did not speak much English, young teens, and a wide variety of races. These people were the backbone of the store. They were considered some of our best people. So I looked at a store like Starbucks and most of the time I saw people who looked like me. Blanca, 20 years old, very attractive, thin, speaks English.
That was the trend that I and the people around me promoted for my work. I meet the criteria for a “good” job at a clothing store. People with a good record shouldn’t end up at McDonald’s that they couldn’t get better if they tried.
If you are a white girl with twenty things, you will be ridiculed for working at McDonald’s. But I don’t think this applies to people with disabilities or middle-aged migrants, for example. Your friends don’t laugh softly: “When do you have a real job? McDonald’s is raw and fat. But my humiliation and that of my friends and family were not because I made hamburgers. It is because it should be better. Supposedly smarter, more diligent, and more talented than the people I’ve worked with. I deserve a “good” job. He had exaggerated confidence that went hand in hand with a privileged person.
