Minimum Wage

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The difference between algorithmic and heuristic work goes much deeper than the definitions of them. Algorithmic work is often seen as a chore and something that has a clear end. An example of algorithmic work that was mentioned in Dan Pink’s book, is a grocery checkout clerk, doing the same thing over and over again until it is time for you to leave. Heuristic work is something that provides meaning to the person doing it and some kind of internal satisfaction for completing a task. Dan Pink uses the example of a person working in advertising, coming up with something new and in return feeling accomplished. Pink explains that, “routine, not-so-interesting jobs require direction; non-routine, more interesting work depends on self-direction” meaning that there can also be non-tangible rewards that you get out of work worth more than any amount of money.[4]

The concepts of engagement and meaningful work cannot exist for someone who works for minimum wage. Most minimum wage work is algorithmic, or a routine task that does not require much skill or intelligence. Jobs such as cashiers, janitors, retail workers, and call center workers are all considered to be minimum wage jobs. Most people working in these jobs are either teens, elders, or suffering from poverty. With algorithmic work, you are not doing a job that challenges you, you are missing out on the opportunities to grow and implement your own ideas, and you are also susceptible to being replaced easily because these jobs are so sought out. As a result of that, the workers are going to be less engaged and less motivated because the only thing they are getting out of a minimum wage job is money.

As a citizen of the United States, I believe that this is simply the price you pay of living in a capitalist society. This country functions off of the principles of money and economic activity and in order to thrive you have to have to more money than the next guy. Although I believe that minimum wage should be raised and it does not agree with the minimum amount of wages needed to survive in America, I do believe that it is just an inherent part of living in this country. It is going to be too hard to transition all of work from algorithmic to heuristic, when most of the minimum wage workers are uneducated and unskilled. I’m not saying that we should do nothing about the minimum wage problem, but doing something as drastic as changing the style of work is going to cause more problems than solve them.

On a final note, meaningful and engaging work will not be achieved within any workplace providing minimum wage, as minimum wage is encompassed by an algorithmic style of work. Algorithmic work includes any type of routine style, where a worker is almost animated or programmed to accomplish a specific task. This is directly contradictory to heuristic work, which encompasses abstract style. These abstract styles can be anything from engineering to interior design or from mathematical standpoints to freely expressed writing. Abstract work allows an individual to express themselves, which can achieve engagement and a meaningful experience for the labor force. Since this engagement and meaningful type of work can only be achieved my heuristic work, minimum wage or algorithmic work will not be able to achieve the same thing, due to their contradictory styles.

Works Cited

- Pink, Daniel H. Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us. Edinburgh:

Canongate, 2011.

- Spurlock, Morgan , writer. "Minimum wage ." In 30 Days.

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