![]() ![]() In her experiment as a low-wage worker, her energy is constantly directed towards the well-being of others, usually at the expense of her own. ![]() Over the course of the book, Barbara realizes that this physical exhaustion is mirrored by mental and emotional exhaustion as well. This physical labor can sometimes lead to medical problems-often compounded by a lack of insurance, which many of these workers cannot afford-which endanger their ability to work, leading to a devastating cycle. Low-wage labor is often directly linked to physical pain: from eight-hour shifts without a bathroom or sit-down break at a restaurant, to the physical exertion required to clean a home, hourly-wage workers must often exhaust themselves physically in order to earn their income. But the term also serves to encapsulate the notion of physical, emotional, and mental toil faced by the country’s lowest class of workers. Labor is defined in economic terms throughout the book, as work performed in exchange for payment. She is, of course, interested in poverty in general-as a journalist, Barbara had covered the topic extensively before writing this book-but here she is particularly concerned with the plight of the working poor. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara sets out to experience the working life of low-wage laborers first-hand. ![]()
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