Selling First Barbara Ehrenreich Analysis

Working in retail is rough. Although I spent a day working a shift, the level of exhaustion and stress I experienced that one day must be what my mom goes through every day she works. For all my life, my mother has worked at a retail store called Express where she brought me to work with her. Those times are what gave me the motivation to pursue a job and gave me the idea to pursue a life in fashion, or more specifically a life in retail. In the beginning, I thought working retail is interesting and thought if my mom could do it then I can as well. Until I got my first dose of reality when I accepted a temporary position for Black Friday at the store my mom still works. Something similar is addressed in Barbara Ehrenreich 's article “Selling …show more content…
She begins with a self-debate about her work schedule and how she should manage between her working hours and her break time. Such as how she learns on her own that “11:00 [pm], the so-called closing shift, although the store remains open 24/7” (Ehrenreich 316). Although she has not stated so directly, Ehrenreich is stressed about having to figure out herself how to conduct her break time as well as how the store she works at functions. I experienced most of the author 's confusion at the first employee meeting. On that day, I learned so many new things most of my colleagues already knew. Whenever my colleagues participated I viewed as very well answering numerous questions I kept to myself, I felt ostracized and upset for learning these things on my own. Especially when one of those colleagues is in a similar boat as myself. What comforted me and made me relax is when someone did something to make me laugh, distracting me from my troubles. Ehrenreich continues by recounting her working environment where she nonstop cleans after customers, who left items which does not …show more content…
Jekyll/Mr. Hyde transformation” (Ehrenreich 317). When I started working, like Ehrenreich I was my cheerful and happy self but my energy started to give out the longer I worked. I got to hand it to my mom because on Black Friday, we had the same shift and unlike me she kept a smile on her face. By the end of my shift, I was dragging my feet and slouching a bit. Even though the author started nice and helpful, the consistency of cleaning after customers increased the stress and impatience developing in herself. She starts thinking, “they 're mine [the clothes], not mine to take home and wear... just mine to organize and rule over... the last thing I want to see is a customer riffling around, disturbing the place” (Ehrenreich 317-318). Ehrenreich is feeling possessive and aggressive of the items and starts internally criticizing the customers, who she believes lacks the same carefulness she has for the store