Comparing Marx Ideas Of Alienated Labor And Hard Work

Waking up to clock into work is a daily routine in many people’s lives. Whether you work at McDonald’s or as a lawyer, you are an active member of society by working. However, what you might fail to recognize is how your job contributes to the well-being of others, such as your manager and business owner despite your hard work. Early sociology pioneers like Karl Marx and Max Weber have demonstrated how work can have negative impacts on employees. Their demonstrations of alienated labor and bureaucracy have impacted the employees of not only their time, but also of the 21st century.
Karl Marx was a German theorist during the industrial era. His theories about society and economics was still highly relevant today. Throughout Marx’s work, the
They were simply objects. In addition to becoming objects, it is important to add that their individual existences were demolished. Property owner employees were not given any new opportunities or expand their skills. Therefore, workers were ruining both their mind and bodies. Sadly, work was consuming their life. This idea of alienated labor is still consistent today. For instance, construction workers. Construction workers are helping large businesses create products such as homes, roads, and skyscrapers. Many often work long hours. They are constantly being pushed to work faster while maintaining efficiency. These construction works are working to benefit the wealthy who make large profits off their hard work. Alienated employees is a consistent trend seen in the work force. Alienated employee do the hard service labor for private property owners who profit from his extreme external and internal
However, is there is another type of labor creates a burden for employees. Another form of labor employees encounter is emotional labor. Arlie Hochschild describes emotional labor as labor that requires one to induce or suppress feeling to sustain the outward countenance that produced the proper state of mind in others. In other words, you are creating an emotion for the sake of your employment. For instance, when you walk into a McDonald’s the cashier greets you with a smile. That cashier is expected from management and the customer to be cheerful and attentive, this is called emotional labor. The cashier is not only selling you a meal but a smiling attitude and quality customer service. The cashier’s happiness is an illusion. Emotional labor is a critical part of all service jobs. Smiling then becomes an instrument of labor. This instrument of labor has value, which is turned into a