A wage slave is someone who relies solely on their job for basic needs and lacks financial assets. They may feel trapped in their job and have no other source of income or insurance benefits. Variations include cubicle and factory slaves.
Wage slave is a business slang term describing someone who is completely dependent on the wages earned by a job in order to secure and maintain the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. Typically, this individual does not have other types of financial assets that are earning some type of return that can be called upon in the event of a disruption in employment. One school of thought also holds that a true wage slave feels trapped in a specific job, holding the perception that he or she would be unable to secure another position that would pay as much or better than the current position.
While many people use wages and salaries as their main means of income, the slave has no other source of financial resources to turn to in an emergency. There are no equity holdings to generate periodic dividends, nor certificates of deposits earning interest with a local financial institution. Often, the wage slave does not have any type of insurance benefit to help make up for lost wages in case of illness or prolonged unemployment. Unless the individual remains employed and works daily, the income stream stops and their ability to maintain their current level of lifestyle is adversely affected.
Others define the modern wage slave in somewhat more liberal terms. Here, the slave might have a modest savings account that earns a small amount of interest annually, or even a few stocks that earn some return every now and then. Despite these modest properties, the individual is still considered a slave, as these other sources of income are not enough to replace the income stream generated by a job. In this understanding, wage slavery only ends when the individual reaches a point where he receives a regular income sufficient to maintain his lifestyle, regardless of the subsistence provided by the job.
There are variations on the term that are used to describe specific types of wage slavery. Office workers who are highly dependent on their earnings are known as cubicle slaves. Shift workers in factories are known as factory slaves. In most cases, the terms are used to identify a type of financial situation and are not considered to be representative of the individual’s character or work ethics.
Another characteristic that is sometimes included in the description of a work slave is the feeling that the individual is trapped in his work. Employers who use swear words and actions to convey the message that the employee is lucky to have the job and that no other employer would ever hire them sometimes fuels this sense of entrapment. At other times, employees feel they are unable to develop additional skills or talents that would allow them to command a position that is more profitable or emotionally satisfying; therefore, they remain in the same position until circumstances force them to seek employment elsewhere.
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