McJob

McJob is slang for a low-paying, low-prestige dead-end job that requires few skills and offers very little chance of intracompany advancement. The term McJob comes from the name of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's, but is used to describe any low-status job – regardless of the employer – where little training is required, staff turnover is high, and workers' activities are tightly regulated by managers.

History

"McJob" was in use at least as early as 1986, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which defines it as "An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector." Lack of job security is common.

The term was coined by sociologist Amitai Etzioni, and appeared in the Washington Post on August 24, 1986 in the article "McJobs are Bad for Kids". The term was popularized by Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, described therein as "a low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one."