Convenience or Death (of Humanity)
Corporate greed wants you to be impatient
Ashley Sudeta
Genuine human connection is priceless. This is exactly why it’s suffering under corporate capitalism. Corporations are molding society to prioritize convenience at the expense of both workers’ and consumers’ humanity. Sometimes I think I might just be cynical or listen to too much Dead Kennedys. However, I witnessed proof of this pattern after donning a green apron to sling coffee to suburbanites.
Optimization isn’t just replacing humans with machines, it’s also teaching people to act like robots. During onboarding I was told countless times that Starbucks’ mission is not just to serve coffee, but to “inspire and nurture the human spirit.” Cute. Despite this, during my shifts I’m constantly reminded that speed is the priority. Human interaction impedes the flow of sales, so even the most lax corporate locations have to salt and burn any hints of genuine connection. My supervisor told me not to give “dissertations” after I was caught chatting through the drive-thru window about my favorite drinks. What is customer connection supposed to look like when you can’t even discuss the product served? Writing on cups, apparently. Starbucks believes canned phrases written on disposable cups is a suitable way to “nurture the human spirit.”
Nobody should attempt to fulfill their social needs solely through corporate-mediated interactions, but this doesn’t mean these exchanges are insignificant. People spend a lot of time at work. Outside of work, they rely on the labor of others because, well, we live in a society. This interdependence impacts how we perceive others and in turn how we treat them. Our country is not just in a loneliness epidemic, but is witnessing a human rights crisis in which the ability to recognize and defend others’ humanity is lifesaving. So, yes, corporate dehumanization matters.
From a worker’s perspective, corporate greed looks like metrics. Produce this much in this amount of time. Customers and coworkers become problems. Everyone is in the way of your goal. You become bitter and robotic toward them. To consumers, it presents as convenience. Corporate promises are shiny and marketable. You don’t have to wait in line or leave your house, thus allowing you to focus on yourself (and the metrics your own job asks you to achieve). Corporate America wants us to be self-centered because it creates efficient workers and allows convenience to sell.
What can we do to remediate this? I would love it if we could abolish corporate capitalism, allowing us to explore an existence free of tyrannical greed. However, this is a tall ask. More realistically I think we can all start by encouraging mindful empathy. Talk to your Uber driver, don’t order delivery during an ice storm, and contribute to a culture that doesn’t expect super speedy service. Whether you’re at work or in the drive-thru, there are individuals corporations don’t want you to see as people. Together we can reverse this culture of convenience.