McJob/McDojo.... Definition change?

[william northcote]

McDonald's begins McJob petition

Fast-food giant McDonald's has launched a petition to get the dictionary definition of a McJob changed.

The Oxford English Dictionary currently describes a McJob as "an unstimulating low-paid job with few prospects".

McDonald's says this definition is now "out of date and insulting", and claims a survey found that 69% of the UK population agree it needs updating.

The campaign by the firm's UK arm is backed by the government's skills envoy and former CBI boss Sir Digby Jones.

'Making a stand'

"The current definition is extremely insulting to the 67,000 people who work for us within the UK," said McDonald's senior vice president David Fairhurst.

"It is also insulting for everyone else who works in the wider restaurant and tourism sectors.


McDonald's logo

"It is time for us now to make a stand and get the Oxford English Dictionary to change the definition."

McDonald's says that in its staff surveys, 90% of employees agree they are given valuable training that will be of benefit for the rest of their working lives.

And 82% of its workers would recommend working at the company to their friends.

'Derogatory'

McDonald's is now inviting its customers to sign petition books in its stores, or alternatively via a new website, entitled Change The Definition.

Meanwhile, Labour MP Clive Betts is sponsoring an Early Day Motion in the Commons, which regrets the use of the derogatory phrases attached to service sector jobs.

McDonalds says it will hand the petition into the Oxford English Dictionary in the autumn.

Its campaign is further supported by British Chambers of Commerce director general David Frost, British Retail Consortium director general Kevin Hawkins and City & Guilds director general Chris Humphries.

The word McJob was first used in the US in the 1980s and was popularised by Douglas Coupland's 1991 book Generation X.

It first appeared in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary in March 2001.

Last year McDonald's tried to improve the image of its employment opportunities with the slogan: "McProspects - over half of our executive team started in our restaurants. Not bad for a McJob."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6683365.stm



So should we stop calling the McJob workers of the low paid? Do you find this derogatory to them as they work in the fast food industry?

Will this action stop us from calling a Krotty mall rat school a McDojo?

Or shall we get McDojo put in the OED for the fun of it.

[Shitoryu Dude]

McDonald's is just blowing a lot of hot air. Basically, they don't get to say what a word means once it gets loose, but that isn't going to stop them from trying.

Many millions of us have worked fast food, and we know what it is like. McDonald's themselves gave us the precursor of the term by their own marketing stategy: "Mc-everything". Now that it has come around to bite them in the butt, they want to re-spin the term into something positive.

Far too late, and all it does is make them look like a pack of whining bitches. We all know exactly what a "McJob" is, just like we know what a "McDojo" or a "McMansion" is. Their futile corporate attempts to rein in pop culture and slang are pointless and misguided; the most common reaction to their attempts is ridicule and eye-rolling. The only thing that will change the meaning of the word are actual changes in the nature of fast-food jobs over a long period, and basic economics says that ain't happening.

[gendzwil]

McDonald's can McBlow me.

[pgsmith]

I think it's a very astute move on their part. It is costing them very little of their advertising dollars to get the name McDonald's out as a source of conversation all over. It won't change anything and I'm sure they know that. However, it is a brilliant advertising strategy.

[DDATFUS]

The dictionary definition of "mcjob" should reflect how it is used in society-- when people say "mcjob" they never mean a fulfilling and stimulating career. If McDonalds wants to change that, maybe they should work on changing their working conditions rather than attacking the dictionary definition.

I'm with Paul, though; this is clearly a marketing ploy.