Relying on the panopticon to find my panopticon
September 12, 2013 7:59 AM Subscribe
Can you help me find an online newspaper article, potentially from the early 2000s, about a workplace in a rural area that had instituted many of the design concepts of a panopticon?
What I remember is that workers were not allowed to speak, had highly regimented/timed (if any) bathroom breaks and the supervisor stood on a raised platform so that he/she could see all of the employees at the same time.
Jobs were scarce in that region, people were desperate for work, it was a low wage job and one of the women spoke of how desperate the workers felt to talk talk talk when they got home -- so much so that it was causing problems for family members, maybe even contributed to someone's divorce.
For some reason I'm vaguely remembering something about M&Ms -- they weren't allowed to keep any snacks or personal items (picture of their kids, for example) on their desks. (It may have been that I read the article while sitting at my desk and reflected on the fact that I really like having M&Ms available on my own desk.)
It was, I think, on the east coast (US)...maybe Pennsylvania or Maryland?
I'm introducing the panopticon concept to a group of students, and would like to share that article.
What I remember is that workers were not allowed to speak, had highly regimented/timed (if any) bathroom breaks and the supervisor stood on a raised platform so that he/she could see all of the employees at the same time.
Jobs were scarce in that region, people were desperate for work, it was a low wage job and one of the women spoke of how desperate the workers felt to talk talk talk when they got home -- so much so that it was causing problems for family members, maybe even contributed to someone's divorce.
For some reason I'm vaguely remembering something about M&Ms -- they weren't allowed to keep any snacks or personal items (picture of their kids, for example) on their desks. (It may have been that I read the article while sitting at my desk and reflected on the fact that I really like having M&Ms available on my own desk.)
It was, I think, on the east coast (US)...maybe Pennsylvania or Maryland?
I'm introducing the panopticon concept to a group of students, and would like to share that article.
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Here's a lengthy MeFi thread about one such story.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:50 PM on September 12, 2013