In this opinion article, author Ellen Galinsky tries to persuade consumers to not shop on Thanksgiving. Galinsky is co-founder and president of the Families and Work Institute, and believes that by shopping on Thanksgiving Day, consumers are making large retailers like Macy's open their shops and thus have their employees work. Galinsky argues that having people work on holidays is detrimental to their well being, as well as their family values. In order to get her point across, Galinsky uses statistics as well as addresses the counter argument to make her point. Galinsky states, "Nearly one-third (32%) of employees report that their work has a primarily negative impact on their lives off the job by draining energy, so they don't have enough left over for their personal and family life."(par. 4). Galinsky uses this data to show readers that even without working on holidays, jobs affect people's family lives. To further her point, Galinsky uses this statistic to say that by taking off on holidays, employee morale is decreased, and there is unhappiness among the employees. These statistics make the consumer aware that morale is a big problem for employees, and that they therefore should not shop on holidays as to avoid promoting holiday working. Galinsky also addresses the other side of the argument by saying that there are some benefits like one and a half times pay for working on holidays, however she quickly refutes this claim saying that family is more important, especially on holidays. Personally I think Galinsky does a great job persuading consumers to not shop on holidays because after reading the article I feel the plight of the employees. Galinsky taught me that family is truly more valuable than money.
No comments:
Post a Comment