Men and Jobs

Question

I want you to read “Men and Jobs,” which is a chapter from a 1960s social study about unemployed men in Washington, DC. (Yes, I am assigning you reading that is more than 50 years old. It’s not a painful read. I promise. It is located on our course website).

The chapter “Men and Jobs” begins compellingly. A truck drives up and down the streets of a Washington, DC neighborhood. The driver of the truck calls out the window toward a group of men, trying to recruit any one of them for “day labor,” where the men would exchange several hours of work for some cash. But many of these men, who are routinely unemployed, turn down the truck driver’s job offer. This is puzzling. Why would an unemployed man turn down any job/opportunity to make money? How can we explain this seemingly irrational behavior?

After reading “Men and Jobs” in its entirety, I want you to return to the chapter’s opening scene — where the unemployed men refuse the truck driver’s job offer — and then examine that behavior (to turn down the job offer) in terms of choices and constraints. In doing so, please address the following questions: Why do the unemployed men featured in this chapter choose not to hop on the truck and go to work? What are the things operating in their lives that constrain them from accepting the job offer? All things considered, does turning down the job seem like an irrational choice for the unemployed man to make? Why or why not?

This essay must be between 500-600 words.

Answer

Men and Jobs

The featured men in the chapter “Men and Jobs” have many reasons for choosing not to go to work. They have values, attitudes, and beliefs preventing them from working for the white men. These men have as well had past experiences and know the risks involved in hopping on the truck and going to work. It is not strange for a man to decline a job offer when he is jobless  Most of these men have had unpleasant experiences and witnessed family break-ups. It is arguable that the thought of a family being ruined is the salient constraint that hinders them from accepting a job offer. For instance, Tonk does not accept going to work because he fears that his wife might be unfaithful to him (she had betrayed  his trust before) (Liebow 23). Another hindrance to the men being reluctant to accept a job is their social lives. These men get addicted to  playing games which consume their working hours. For example, Leroy is running late for work but still plays his games. Playing helps them to forget their sorrows in life. They find playing more satisfying than the stressful working environments, which may seem irrational. Turning down a job offer is not an irrational choice for the unemployed, considering the deplorable working conditions in many work set-ups. The workers endure harsh treatment at the white men’s hands who view black men as inferior to them. It is better to decline a demeaning job offer than compromise one’s dignity. Many jobs are not only harmful, but with wages so low that cannot support the workers  and their families (Liebow 37). Notably, the jobs have no security, as a person can be fired any time without a warning. The man also has job fears that affect his self-esteem and confidence. He values his dignity and self-respect, which had been initially destroyed by the white men (Liebow 45).

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A job should be doable. Many jobs, especially in the construction industry where it is easy to find work, are simply too hard, where the workers are required to do back-breaking jobs such as lifting heavy weights, or placing steel rods for reinforcing concrete. Other jobs require passing examinations, which may be beyond the learning capacity of some, even though the job itself may not require knowledge of the concepts learned. Further, a man’s low self-esteem and fear of failure may prevent him from taking up jobs with responsibilities.  

Men at the bottom of the employment ladder are conscious of the lack of pride, prestige, and respect associated with their jobs, and see themselves as others see them. Hence, when they are out of a job, and are offered one similar to the one they were holding earlier, it triggers a sense of shame in them, and they would rather be unemployed than revert to doing a job that hurts their ego. Moreover, the job does not hold hope that it will lead to something better. A menial worker, no matter how hard he works, can hardly hope to one day sit at a desk in the office he works in.

In conclusion, there are many factors that prevent unemployed men from taking up jobs, which, after all, is not such an irrational thing. Desire to hold their family together, difficulty in coping with the job’s demands, and lack of prestige are some of the reasons that keep them unemployed. Sometimes, they are so overcome by a sense of hopelessness, that they feel, no matter how hard they work, they will still be at the bottom rung of society, and there is no point in working hard.

Works Cited

Liebow, Elliot. Tally’s corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men. Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Mc5HBbE8rucC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&d q=Liebow,+Elliot.+Tally%27s+corner:+A+study+of+Negro+streetcorner+men.+Rowman+%26+Littlefield,+2003.&ots=Uv1rLOIMYJ&sig=nJ9_gt7BbbSJ0E0nETp330XGo9A&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Liebow%2C%20Elliot.%20Tally’s%20corner%3A%20A%20study%20of%20Negro%20streetcorner%20men.%20Rowman%20%26%20Littlefield%2C%202003.&f=false