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{{Short description|Pejorative work-related slang}}
{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
[[File:Bauan,Batangaschurchjf9602 17.JPG|thumb|McDonald's staff in [[Quezon City]], Philippines]]
"'''McJob'''" is a [[slang]] term for a low-paying, low-prestige [[dead-end job]] that requires few [[Skill (labor)|skills]] and offers very little chance of advancement.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of McJob by Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/McJob |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref> The term "McJob" comes from the name of the [[fast-food restaurant]] [[McDonald's]], but is used to describe any low-status job{{dash}}regardless of employer{{dash}}where little [[training]] is required, staff [[turnover (employment)|turnover]] is high, and workers' activities are [[Micromanagement|tightly regulated by managers]].<ref name="Weissmann">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/07/mcjobs-are-the-future-why-you-should-care-what-fast-food-workers-earn/277863/ |title=McJobs Are the Future: Why You Should Care What Fast Food Workers Earn |first=Jordan |last=Weissmann |date=17 July 2013 |website=The Atlantic |access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref>

==History==

"McJob" was in use at least as early as 1986 — it appears in an article by sociologist [[Amitai Etzioni]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1986/08/24/the-fast-food-factories-mcjobs-are-bad-for-kids/b3d7bbeb-5e9a-4335-afdd-2030cb7bc775/|title=The Fast-Food Factories: McJobs Are Bad for Kids|first1=Amitai|last1=Etzioni|date=24 August 1986|access-date=7 March 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref> — and the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' defines it as "[a]n unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector."<ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/11/11/offbeat.mcjob.ap/ Merriam-Webster: 'McJob' is here to stay] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412142241/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/11/11/offbeat.mcjob.ap/ |date=April 12, 2008 }}". ''The Associated Press''. November 11, 2003.</ref>  Lack of [[job security]] is common.

The term was popularized by [[Douglas Coupland]]'s 1991 novel ''[[Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture]]'',<ref name="Smith V">{{cite book |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Vicki |title=Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2 |date=2013 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-7618-2 |pages=1019–1020}}</ref> which described a "McJob" 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."<ref name="coupland">Coupland, Douglas. ''Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture''. St Martin's Press, 1991. p. 5 {{ISBN|0-312-05436-X}}</ref>

In the face of objections from McDonald's, the term "McJob" was added to ''[[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary]]'' in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|title=Merriam-Webster: 'McJob' is here to stay |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/11/11/offbeat.mcjob.ap/ |publisher=CNN |access-date=29 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412142241/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/11/11/offbeat.mcjob.ap/ |archive-date=April 12, 2008 }}</ref> In an open letter to Merriam-Webster, McDonald's [[CEO]], [[James Richard Cantalupo|James Cantalupo]] denounced the definition as a "slap in the face" to all restaurant employees, and stated that "a more appropriate  definition of a 'McJob' might be 'teaches responsibility'". Merriam-Webster responded that "[they stood] by the accuracy and appropriateness of [their] definition."

On 20 March 2007, the [[BBC]] reported that the [[United Kingdom|UK]] arm of McDonald's planned a public [[petition]] to have the OED's definition of "McJob" changed.<ref>[http://changethedefinition.com/ McDonald's McJob Petition<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091014201340/http%3A//www.changethedefinition.com/ |date=2009-10-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/05/gis_a_mcjob.html|title=BBC NEWS - Talk about Newsnight - "Gis a McJob"}}</ref> Lorraine Homer from McDonald's stated that the company feels the definition is "out of date and inaccurate".<ref>{{cite news
  | last = BBC
  | author-link = BBC
  | title = McDonald's seeks McJob rewrite
  | date = 2007-03-20
  | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6469707.stm
  | access-date = 2007-03-20
| work=BBC News}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com|title=CNN International, 24 March 2007}}</ref> The company would prefer the definition to be rewritten to "reflect a job that is stimulating, rewarding ... and offers skills that last a lifetime".<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1628391,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607212534/http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1628391,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 7, 2007 | magazine=Time | title=Can McDonald's Alter the Dictionary? | date=2007-06-05 | access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2007/05/a_new_mcdefinition.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=A new McDefinition? | date=2007-05-24 | access-date=2010-05-12 | first=Open | last=Thread}}</ref>

These comments run counter to the principle that dictionaries [[Linguistic description|simply record linguistic usage]] rather than judge it, and that dropping the entry for "McJob" would be a precedent for [[Thomas Bowdler|bowdlerising]] definitions of other derogatory terms.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> McDonald's attempted to get all of its workers to sign the petition but many refused on the grounds that the current definition is accurate despite the company's complaint.

During the aforementioned arguments that broke out when [[Merriam-Webster]] included "McJob" in its new edition, McDonald's officials implied the company might bring a [[lawsuit]] against the dictionary based on this trademark issue, but never did so. McDonald's disputes that its jobs are poor, because the company has been nominated for employee awards that are created by employers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/01/23/38986/mcdonalds-shrugs-off-mcjob-curse-to-win-best-place-to-work-in-hospitality.html|title=McDonald's shrugs off 'McJob curse' to win Best Place to Work in Hospitality Award - Personnel Today|work=Personnel Today|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909200826/http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/23/01/2007/38986/McDonald39s-shrugs-off-39McJob-curse39-to-win-Best-Place-to-Work-in-Hospitality.htm|archive-date=September 9, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2018}} However, this was contradicted in the outcome of the UK [[McLibel]] court case, in which the judges ruled that it was fair to say that McDonald's employees worldwide "do badly in terms of pay and conditions".<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/msc_25mar99.html|title=Press Release - McLibel Support Campaign; 25th March 1999}}</ref>

The term "McJOBS" was registered as a [[trademark]] by McDonald's in 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73480642|title=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval}}</ref> Following the October 1992 publication of ''Generation X'' in paperback, McDonald's restored the trademark.<ref name=autogenerated3 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73480984|title=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval}}</ref>

==Accuracy of the term==
[[File:McStrike October 2018 - 04.jpg|thumb|McDonald's workers striking against coercive labour practices and low wages, 2018]]
There are often wide variations in how workers are actually treated depending on the local franchise owner.  Some employees start out in [[entry-level job|entry-level]] McJobs and later become assistant managers or managers, continuing to work at the same franchise for many years; however this is the exception rather than the norm. McDonald's advertises that its former CEO, [[Jim Skinner]], began working at the company as a regular restaurant employee, and that 20 of its top 50 managers began work as regular crew members.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=McDonald's Debuts Advertising on the World of Opportunity Under the Golden Arches |date=September 21, 2005 |url=http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/news/corppr/2005/CPR_09212005.html |access-date=7 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306192237/http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/news/corppr/2005/CPR_09212005.html |archive-date=6 March 2009}}</ref>

According to [[Jim Cantalupo]], former [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of McDonald's, the perception of fast-food work being boring and mindless is inaccurate, and over 1,000 of the people who now own McDonald's [[Franchising|franchises]] began behind the counter.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3255883.stm | work=BBC News | title=McDonald's anger over McJob entry | date=2003-11-09 | access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref> Because McDonald's has over 400,000 employees and high turnover, Cantalupo's contention has been criticized as being invalid, working to highlight the exception rather than the rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,2087692,00.html|title=Polly Toynbee: McJobs are giving Britain a reputation as Europe's offshore banana republic|author=Polly Toynbee|work=the Guardian|date=24 May 2007}}</ref>

In 2006, McDonald's undertook an advertising campaign in the [[United Kingdom]] to challenge the perceptions of the ''McJob''. The campaign, developed by Barkers Advertising and supported by research conducted by [[Adrian Furnham]], professor of psychology at [[University College London]], highlighted the benefits of working for the organization, stating that they were "''Not bad for a McJob''". The advertisements ran at [[London]]'s [[Piccadilly Circus]].<ref>"[http://www.management-issues.com/display_page.asp?section=research&id=3286 Not bad for a McJob?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618211930/http://www.management-issues.com/display_page.asp?section=research&id=3286 |date=2006-06-18 }}" Management Issues. June 8, 2006</ref>

==See also==
* [[Contingent work]]
* [[Critique of work]]
*''[[Maxime, McDuff & McDo]]'', a 2002 French documentary about unionization of a McDonald's in Montreal
*[[McWords]]
*''[[My Secret Life on the McJob]]'', a 2006 book describing management lessons learned by the author, Jerry Newman, when he worked undercover in several fast food venues
*[[Permatemp]]
* [[Poverty]]
* [[Working poor]]
*[[Zero-hour contract]], some businesses participate in, whereby work is not guaranteed, but employees must be available for work in short notice, unlike contingent work (or casual contract), where employees must be given ample notice, and have the right to refuse guaranteed minimum hours of work.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
*[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/may/20/tefl2 McJob status hard to break]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5052020.stm The flip side of a McJob]
*[https://www.foxnews.com/story/mcdonalds-new-tv-ad-fights-mcjob-image McDonald's New TV Ad Fights 'McJob' Image]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7211958.stm McDonald's 'A-level' is launched]

{{McDonald's}}{{Critique of work}}{{Employment}}

[[Category:McDonald's]]
[[Category:McWords]]
[[Category:Food services occupations]]
[[Category:Ethically disputed working conditions]]
[[Category:Community organizing]]
[[Category:Employment classifications]]
[[Category:Labor disputes]]
[[Category:Labor relations]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms]]
[[Category:Feminism and social class]]
[[Category:1980s neologisms]]
[[Category:Criticism of fast food]]