An individual's personality and behavior is greatly influenced by his/ her working environment. When an individual is surrounded by the same conditions every day, he/she often learns to adapt to these conditions. When a worker adjusts to the working environment, often time his/her personality is influenced by other workers and any obstacles involved in performing the job. For instance, in “Nickel and Dimed”, Barbara Ehrenreich realizes that her personality changes as she works at Walmart. While working at Walmart, Ehrenreich has no choice but to go by the name of “Barb” and evens finds herself thinking differently than she had before. She catches herself judging customers for carelessly discarding unwanted items on the store floor, and creating more work for the employees. She even makes crude comments regarding Walmart customers, clearly indicating that her responsibilities as a worker have transformed her attitude: “ Once I stand and watch helplessly while some rug rat pulls everything that he can reach off the racks, and the though that abortion is wasted on the unborn must show on my face, because his mother finally tells him to stop” (92). Clearly Ehrenreich’s work environment has shaped the way that she thinks. She expresses hatred towards a child who acts carelessly, by labeling him as a “rug rat” and raising the suggestion of aborting already born children. This suggestion comes across as absolutely extreme and conveys the impact of the working environment on Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich even confirms her change in attitude when she approaches a man in a wheel chair: “I’d gone back to the counter by the fitting room to pick up the next cart full of returns and found the gig whole answers the phone at the counter at night, a pensive young fellow in a wheelchair, staring into space, looking even sadder than usual. And my pensive thought was, At least you get to sit down. This is not me, at least not any version I’d like to spend much time with…” (93-4). Evidently, Ehrenreich is aware that she has changed mentally as a result of the hard work that she must perform each day at Walmart. The conditions that she faces at Walmart are so extreme that she envies a man who sits in a wheel chair. Therefore, it is quite clear that one’s working environment can have a great impact on their personality and attitude towards life.
Personally, I can understand how an individual would be different if he/she attended a different school than the one that they had grown up in. As I just moved to Mooresville this year from Connecticut, I can already see how my experience in Connecticut has caused me to have a different attitude and personality than those here. As I grew up in a small town in Connecticut, my school was very small and predominately white. Although my school consisted of mostly white students, it was also very culturally sensitive. Students were all taught to respect each other, and often got into trouble for small things that may not be punished here. Also, religion was a very sensitive topic in the North, and teachers were very careful to avoid discussing their beliefs or religion at all costs. When religion was discussed, it was from an unbiased point of view. Therefore, my experience in the Connecticut school systems taught me to be culturally sensitive and careful of discussing religion. However, the school systems in Mooresville are quite different. Students who have attended the Mooresville school systems seem to feel free with expressing their beliefs and views on society. Classes are even offered at the high school that examine the Bible, which might be considered offensive in Connecticut. I have adjusted to fit in the environment of Mooresville, however I think that my experience in Connecticut has made me more aware of the different cultures that exist in society.
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