Ethnography
The concept studied in this ethnography was minimum wage work. Minimum wage is the
lowest possible wage (whether that be by the hour, daily or monthly) that an employer is legally
allowed to pay his or her employees. Supporters of the establishment of a federal minimum wage
believe and promote that this system aids in the reduction of exploitation and also that it guarantees
workers the ability to provide for themselves, and any family member, the basic necessities needed
for survival (for example food and shelter). However, others argue that the existence of a federal
minimum wage adds to an increased unemployment rate among younger people and unskilled
workers. Minimum wage work is often characterized as “skilled labor” and includes the completion
of unwanted, minuscule tasks. Examples of jobs with government established minimum wage
salaries are the front desk workers at college dormitories, fast food workers, a restaurant
dishwasher, and a gas station attendant. In the United States, the minimum wage has been risen
from $0.75 (in 1950) to $5.15 (in 2005); however, despite that increase, the exact value is actually
lower because as the minimum wage level has been increased by the federal government, the value
of the US dollar has decreased. This loss of value and the significantly high number of people
employed at minimum wage are contributing factors to the continuously increasing level of poverty
in the US, especially because the small income is not a sufficient salary that would provide people
with a substantial lifestyle to live off of. The purpose of this study was to grasp an understanding of
what it is like to hold jobs that are not highly desirable and yet only be paid a small salary for the
work that is done.
Observations for this study were carried out in two different locations; however both were at
a McDonald’s restaurant. The first location I observed is located on High Street and the second is
located in a suburb of Columbus, called Dublin. I chose to observe at these two settings because one
is located near a large college campus and is also very close to the downtown business district of
Hunter
2
Columbus, and the other is located in a developed suburb about 20 minutes away. I thought that
these specific locations would increase my chances of observing a variety of both workers and
customers. Also, I thought it would enhance the quality and overall accuracy of my observations
because the communities surrounding the two locations are so different from each other. When
observing, I chose to do so from a “third person” point of view. I did not interact or socialize with
employees or customers (with the exception of interviews, which were done following my
observation time) because I did not want people’s behaviors to be influenced (positively or
negatively) by an awareness of my observations. When conducting my interviews, I was sure to
remain completely neutral and made the questions broad enough so that they could be individually
subjective and free of influence from my personal opinions.
The two restaurants were very different from each other. The first location was clean, yet
had an industrial-like and sterile atmosphere about it. The walls were a stark white, grey tiles
covered the floors, the booths and tables were a combination of white and grey and the only color
throughout the dining area was randomly placed "McDonalds" logos. Also, unlike the second
McDonalds observed, this one had an indoor play-place for children. I observed at this location on a
Monday afternoon, between 1:00-3:00 pm, and the restaurant was staffed with one manager, two
cashiers, one person working the pick-up window and two other workers. The second location was
almost the opposite, in terms of décor, of the first. Located in the upscale suburb of Dublin, this
McDonalds has a very warm and inviting atmosphere. The walls were painted, there were
multicolored tiles on the floor, nice decorations throughout (fake flowers and photographs, not only
McDonald’s logos) and a fireplace completed the dining room. I conducted my observation on a
Saturday between 11:00am-2:00pm. On this particular weekend, there was a soccer tournament
being held in town, so it was very crowded and the restaurant had one manager, four cashiers, one
person working the pick-up window and three other people working at that time.
Hunter
3
My observations were not very specific because I was interested in the overall
characteristics of people who work at the minimum wage rather than a specific characteristic or
action. The most general observation I noticed was of the way in which the employees interacted
with customers, seen at both locations. I found that the majority of the employees (with the
exception of one at the first location) were polite, well-mannered and willing to help the customers.
Also, the workers at both locations had noticeably different characteristics (physical – race, age,
gender, etc.) and unlike commonly held stereotypes about the type of people who work the
minimum wage jobs, not one characteristic, behavior or action was specific to only one of any of
those three categories. I also observed many circumstances in which employees interacted with one
another. These interactions included a variety of situations; some were a person asking for extra
help or other questions pertaining to work, while others were conversations about non-work related
topics. When asked about the relationships between the employees, one female employee (from the
second location) said that employees interact with each other, such as joking around, because it
helps the time go by faster and the “boring” tasks are not as difficult to get through. She also said
that they are willing to help one another because employees of McDonalds are all a part of the same
“team” and they are there to professionally support one another. Along with teamwork, I also
observed the different jobs assigned. The cashiers had the most personal interaction with customers.
The managers (at both locations) were the “over-lookers” of the front counter (where the orders
were placed by walk-in customers) and at the second location the manager prepared the items for
the pick-up window. Also, at both locations, there were employees who gathered food for eat-in
customers, restocked the condiments station and picked-up around the restaurant. All of the workers
seemed to work well together; however, at the first location the exception was a white male
teenager who did not want to socialize with any other workers and of all the employees observed,
he was by far the least welcoming to customers.
Hunter
4
Aside from the employees, I also observed the ways in which the customers acted. In my
interviews, I asked customers if they had any stereotypes about those who worked in minimum
wage jobs. Their answers were all related to three topics: race (specifically blacks and minority
racial groups, such as Mexican), education (rather lack there of), and motivation (low-paid and
unskilled workers have little or no drive to “make something” of themselves). Despite these
stereotypes expressed in the interviews, I did not observe any obvious forms of rude behavior or
discrimination towards employees. The customers seemed to respond in a manner that reflected the
one in which they were approached with by the employee. Most customers appeared to be in a
hurry, but remained polite and patient. One difference I did notice about the customers at the two
different locations is that at the first location, the customers were more likely to leave trash on the
floor or not tuck-in a chair than those at the second location. At the second location, customers
seemed more aware of and concerned about the mess they were leaving behind.
From my observations, I learned a great deal about the concept of minimum wage work and
how it relates to sociology. McDonalds is a location where employees begin earning minimum
wage (however advancement and salary increases are a possibility) and as gathered from the
interviews, most employees hired are younger, less-educated (some still in school or saving for
further education) and less-skilled than others in our society’s competitive corporate world. From
my interview with a cashier at the first location, I inferred that the job title and salary were not as
important as the luxury of having a job. He also said that everyone has to start somewhere and that
even though he has to make sacrifices to live off of the low salary, he is confident that he is building
his future. Most of the workers consider themselves lucky to have a job; some are using the income
to support themselves and their families while others are working to save for the future. Although
the minimum wage job market does contribute to poverty in the United States, it also enhances the
opportunity for the success of others.
Hunter
5
My observations also shed light on our class’ discussion of the challenges that those with
less educational and economical opportunity face. We studied stratification and this relates to
minimum wage because those typically hired into these jobs (young, less-educated individuals)
oftentimes come from working-class families and as seen within the concept of stratification,
structured ranking (upper, middle, working, poor classes) leads to an unequal balance of
opportunity in society. The two people interviewed at the first location both came from singleparent families (raised by their mothers) who struggled financially and because of this, their life
chances may not be as fortunate as a child who grew up with both parents in a middle class
environment. Minimum wage work is also characteristic of a capitalist society because McDonalds
is a privately owned corporation and the incentives for working there (based primarily on
information gathered from interviews) is different for each individual, but all are relative to each
other in the sense that the employees took the jobs for economic purposes, specifically as an attempt
to get ahead or, ironically in relation to stereotypes, to “make something” of themselves.
Throughout this study, the working conditions of minimum wage employees were observed.
The physical location of the restaurant, interaction amongst employees and employers, and the
treatment of the workers all play a significant role in the analysis of my observations. In conclusion,
I found that those working a minimum wage job are doing so for personal reasons but in general
terms the job was not taken as a desirable one, but because it offered an opportunity for economic
growth and stability. Although there are stereotypes held about those people working minimum
wage jobs, this observation provides audiences with the opportunity to see that these workers are
not defined by the labor they perform. People working at minimum wage level are taking advantage
of the opportunities available to them to sustain an income and plan for the future.
Works Cited
Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.