But you also have to acknowledge the usefulness of the phrase, which in your very lengthy article, you never do.
So my cousin worked at McDonalds and was a hard worker and later became a manager. But that wasn’t my point. Here’s my point: A couple days ago, I went into a coffee shop and witnessed the laziest group of college age women I have ever seen. 4 students sitting if they could get a chair and standing if they couldn’t. At one point, they were all stone faced and didn’t move. Meanwhile, the baker was hustling around. She had worked in the food service industry for years. They all just stared at each other. One wearing her baggy sweatpants and hoodie with her hands in her pockets! Nothing says lazy like having your hands in your pockets. I went to the bathroom and it was filthy and they were out of paper towels. I went home and made my daughter pick up her socks herself and take them to the laundry room. I was worried she would end up lazy and will do my best to teach her.
“Time to lean, time to clean” is an ongoing (bad) joke in our house. Something that struck me about this after reading today is how much the perception of productivity is more important than actual productivity. I once worked in a grocery store coffee shop that was very slow. I’d clean the same shit over & over again just to stay busy (and I was the boss!). That’s not productive!
“Time to lean, time to clean,” then, isn’t just about eking out every ounce of productivity from a worker. It’s about control—domination. And it’s about making our own work ethic an instrument of that domination.
This is so cathartic! I completely internalized this mantra when I worked as a barista. So much so that I was usually the first to ask if I could home early when we got slow — willing to forfeit hours of pay and time with coworkers I genuinely adored, just to avoid feeling lazy when there was no work to be done. Wish I’d had a barista-mentor like Daniel 😍
But you also have to acknowledge the usefulness of the phrase, which in your very lengthy article, you never do.
So my cousin worked at McDonalds and was a hard worker and later became a manager. But that wasn’t my point. Here’s my point: A couple days ago, I went into a coffee shop and witnessed the laziest group of college age women I have ever seen. 4 students sitting if they could get a chair and standing if they couldn’t. At one point, they were all stone faced and didn’t move. Meanwhile, the baker was hustling around. She had worked in the food service industry for years. They all just stared at each other. One wearing her baggy sweatpants and hoodie with her hands in her pockets! Nothing says lazy like having your hands in your pockets. I went to the bathroom and it was filthy and they were out of paper towels. I went home and made my daughter pick up her socks herself and take them to the laundry room. I was worried she would end up lazy and will do my best to teach her.
If you want workers who are not lazy, you need to pay for that. Garbage wages = garbage employees.
I need a t-shirt that says: What would Daniel do?
“Time to lean, time to clean” is an ongoing (bad) joke in our house. Something that struck me about this after reading today is how much the perception of productivity is more important than actual productivity. I once worked in a grocery store coffee shop that was very slow. I’d clean the same shit over & over again just to stay busy (and I was the boss!). That’s not productive!
“Time to lean, time to clean,” then, isn’t just about eking out every ounce of productivity from a worker. It’s about control—domination. And it’s about making our own work ethic an instrument of that domination.
This is so cathartic! I completely internalized this mantra when I worked as a barista. So much so that I was usually the first to ask if I could home early when we got slow — willing to forfeit hours of pay and time with coworkers I genuinely adored, just to avoid feeling lazy when there was no work to be done. Wish I’d had a barista-mentor like Daniel 😍
I, too, am smitten with Daniel.
Sometimes I wonder if I should pivot Boss Barista to just be about all my crushes.
I'm reading this on my lunch of indeterminate length
On the clock or no?
Neither off, nor on, but a secret third thing.
If only we can work behind the bar together again so I could attempt to understand your inscrutable answers.