McJobs – Ok, Good… But…

A McJob is a low-paying, non-challenging job with few benefits or opportunities, typically in the service sector.

In this day & age of job-hopping & attrition there still exists jobs that are at the lowest end of the spectrum. Jobs that for some reason need to be done in our country.

Lets take the case of the Lift operator. The guy you will find in a lift seated on a small stool, with a look that is totally uninterested. His main task involves operating the lift. Operate is a big term, if you know what I mean. All they have to do is press the button of the number of the floor the visitor is headed to. Of course some would argue that they are also there to take care of any untoward incidents like the break down of the lift or in worse scenarios to act as a guide in events of accidents.

Lets take another example, that of an Elevator Guard. They have come into prominence post an accident that happened in one of the shopping malls in Bangalore. I must also say that I have seen these guys at only that shopping mall so far. I suppose their job is similar to that of a Lift operator - guard the elevator & prevent any untoward incidents around there.

In India the concept of escalators & elevators are pretty new. Earlier it was limited only to high-rise office buildings & had to be dealt with only by the office goers. Today we find them in shopping malls, hospitals, and multiplexes, places that are frequented by the common public. Considering that the Indian public is still not adept about the operating of such machines, people around to help them is a good idea. However for how long are we going to spoon-feed the Indian public for every small task?

In India, there are men (& women) at the petrol bunks to fill your car or bike up with fuel. Elsewhere in the world (mostly west) filling up on fuel is a self-service job. Even tasks like painting, plumbing is generally done by the members of a family. Professionals are called upon only in serious circumstances or when the task is huge.

With over a billion in population no wonder such jobs exists in abundance. This is good because these people can live a life of dignity for doing a decent job that obviously pays them decently as well, but in the long run such jobs should be phased out & more challenging jobs should be created.