Master & Servant*

I have occasion to shop at a store, quite frequently, that's part of a large national chain.  I don't have much choice in this, because of the type of operation that it is, I would have to go it or one of its competitors.  There's no local version of it, really.

The store, which has been in my community since the mid 1930s (when it started to displace the local versions of the same thing) was recently purchased by another chain. Not the entire company, but the local stores in my region.

I've wondered if both of the outlets would survive or not.  I have no idea, but I have noticed that one of the persons who operates the cash registers is now really unhappy. So much so, that I'd avoid that person's register if I could.  That person has taken up being a little violent towards the merchandise.  I don't know for sure that this is connected with the change, but I suspect so.  I suspect, without knowing that this person's position won't survive the change.

While I don't appreciate having my merchandise abused, I do feel for people in that situation, and it strikes me how much more liable people are to that sort of thing today.  In prior eras, so many more people were self employed at the retail level, it isn't even funny. And those who worked as clerks for those storefronts were employed by somebody that they knew, for good or ill, which makes downsizing them quite a bit different than it otherwise is today.

This also points out, I think, why people in their teen years looking at careers ought to think long and hard about their future.  Not everyone wants to be self employed, but having a skill that's in demand or translatable to one that's likely to be means a lot more now than just being an employee who shows up on time and leaves at the end of the day.  A loyal employee for Amalgamated Amalgamated might still just be a nameless number to corporate headquarters when the downsizing comes.  Careers that feature licensing of one kind or an other might be more valuable by their very nature, as t he license can usually translate into work.  If that's self employable work (as opposed to being self employed), so much the better, perhaps.

Not exactly the "do what makes you happy" advice that people like to hear, but perhaps something to consider to some extent.

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* At law, the relationship between employer and employee is the "master and servant relationship".