Question
Ellen Claasen, is a 21-year old South African woman who works in a factory. Ellen got pregnant in high school and then dropped out of school. She only obtained grade 10. Three years after she left school she eventually got work at a factory that makes tin cans (for canned food).
Ellen has been working at the factory for two years and still does exactly the same work. Three men cut the tin according to a template, and the Ellen and about 100 other women solder the cans together. The factory gets extremely hot in summer and ice cold in winter because the building mainly consists of zinc. The women are exposed to gasses while they solder and often by lunchtime, Ellen can feel her lungs burning.
It takes quite long to complete one tin can and there is a certain quota she has to finish everyday – the women seldom succeed in making the quota, and thus they usually work overtime for an hour or so, without payment. Their supervisor, the factory owner’s wife, is very strict and often makes sarcastic comments when someone is absent from work due to illness (she has also fired a woman who stayed off work for two days). Thus Ellen goes to work even when she is feeling very ill.
Ellen and the other women have heard rumours that the owner of the factory plans to buy a machine that will be operated by one man. She fears that she is going to lose her job. She and the other women have decided that they are going to join a union affiliated with COSATU as soon as possible.
Ellen’s work bores her and she cannot wait to go home at night. She wishes she could find other work, but seeing that she still lives with her parents (and only her mother also has a job) she has to continue to work to support them, her baby and herself.
In the post-industrial society, workers are motivated by?
A.
Master status
B.
Gender equality
C.
Unemployment
Ellen has been working at the factory for two years and still does exactly the same work. Three men cut the tin according to a template, and the Ellen and about 100 other women solder the cans together. The factory gets extremely hot in summer and ice cold in winter because the building mainly consists of zinc. The women are exposed to gasses while they solder and often by lunchtime, Ellen can feel her lungs burning.
It takes quite long to complete one tin can and there is a certain quota she has to finish everyday – the women seldom succeed in making the quota, and thus they usually work overtime for an hour or so, without payment. Their supervisor, the factory owner’s wife, is very strict and often makes sarcastic comments when someone is absent from work due to illness (she has also fired a woman who stayed off work for two days). Thus Ellen goes to work even when she is feeling very ill.
Ellen and the other women have heard rumours that the owner of the factory plans to buy a machine that will be operated by one man. She fears that she is going to lose her job. She and the other women have decided that they are going to join a union affiliated with COSATU as soon as possible.
Ellen’s work bores her and she cannot wait to go home at night. She wishes she could find other work, but seeing that she still lives with her parents (and only her mother also has a job) she has to continue to work to support them, her baby and herself.
In the post-industrial society, workers are motivated by?
A.
Master status
B.
Gender equality
C.
Unemployment
Answers
GPT-4o mini
In the context of post-industrial society, workers like Ellen may be motivated by several factors, but the most relevant option from the ones provided would be:
**B. Gender equality**
This is because Ellen, as a woman working in a factory, is navigating a work environment that may be influenced by gender dynamics, including wage disparities and working conditions. Moreover, her decision to join a union indicates a desire for improved rights and conditions, which often relates to the broader struggle for gender equality in the workplace.
While the other options, "Master status" and "Unemployment," might play roles in workers' motivations generally, they don't specifically capture the primary motivational factors for Ellen in her unique situation as described.
**B. Gender equality**
This is because Ellen, as a woman working in a factory, is navigating a work environment that may be influenced by gender dynamics, including wage disparities and working conditions. Moreover, her decision to join a union indicates a desire for improved rights and conditions, which often relates to the broader struggle for gender equality in the workplace.
While the other options, "Master status" and "Unemployment," might play roles in workers' motivations generally, they don't specifically capture the primary motivational factors for Ellen in her unique situation as described.