My Short-Lived Career As A Market Research Interviewer

Like many seniors on fixed incomes, my husband and I find ourselves increasingly squeezed by inflation and rising costs.  Robert Reich reported not long ago that working people’s salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation but at least are receiving some sort of raise, even if inadequate.  We are stuck with social security and a small pension.

So, I thought to supplement our income with one of those work-from-home jobs.  While I was an interpreter, I’d supplement income during slow months by working as a part time market research interviewer.  I worked for several research companies from 1983 to 1992 and they were all fine companies to work for.  Before becoming an interpreter, I was a secretary.  Even before that, in high school, I became a proficient typist.  So, I began looking for remote jobs.

It didn’t take too long before a human resources manager from X Group saw my resume and called me to interview me for a market research position.  She gave me a bare bones overview: my shift would be 5p.m. to 1a.m. and I would call across the country according to time zones.  Well, I was used to that.  At my earlier companies, we’d call the East Coast until 8-8:30, change to Central Time until their 8-8:30, move to Mountain repeat and then to Pacific.  I was cool with it all and looked forward to giving us extra income for the things we need.  Like dental work.

Training was scheduled for two days from 3-9 p.m.  I liked the trainer but we sure moved like gangbusters learning the rules and then taking a crash course in one of the complicated dialing systems.  We were moving pretty fast and although I took notes, I found the dialing system confusing.  We practiced logging in a couple of times and then we were thrown onto dialing system.

Literally.  Thrown on.  In my previous experience, all the interviewers would go over the script together.  Old news.  We were expected to utilized a huge very busy message board chock full of items and search all over for the job briefing sheet.  We’d then look to see who we were calling, where, why and how long the survey was supposed to be.  Under the schedule item, I saw a scolding message toward the interviews that they were using too much idle time and they weren’t “rebutting”; that rebutting was required and they’d better start doing a better job of it.

Rebutting?  That means pestering a reluctant respondent to keep going and finish the survey until they just hang up on you.  Oh dear.  Well, I thought, I can use my persuasive skills and then just let them go before they blow their gasket.

I was assigned to a political survey.  Of course.  The midterms are coming up and there were multiple jobs covering multiple candidates.  I began calling, fumbling around a bit like any newbie, but did talk to people.  I was a little taken aback by how many tRump supporters I was reaching.  Later, my daughter Heidi commented that they were the ones dumb enough to answer a call from a number they didn’t recognize.  Democratic voters would just let the phone ring.  Ha, I wish.

The following evening, we trained on the other dialing system. That one was easier to use.  We spent just 2 hours in actual training and then, again, we were thrown onto the phones.  Another political survey.

I had my husband Ted print out as many of the relevant articles from that message board as I possibly could.  On Saturday night, I went into it cold.  We had a contact person (supervisor) and tech advisor assigned to us but there were a lot of people they had to watch/help.  I had a hard start but the tech guy helped me get under way.  He was very funny to chat with.

As it got toward 9, I began to wonder when we’d move to Central time.  People were getting testy.  “Don’t you realize how late it is?”  In the beginning, they were still civil.  I’d apologize and let them go their way.  Supervisor’s message was to tell each caller ‘I’m sorry I’m calling so late but we just need one more in your area.  Please stay on with me so that my supervisor doesn’t send me home for not making the quota.’  That’s a rebuttal.

I didn’t like it.  I didn’t want to do it.  I think it’s rude to call anyone late in the evening, especially for a survey that would be meaningless to them.  I want to treat people the way I want to be treated so that means being considerate and kind.  Calling this late and then trying to guilt/strong arm into doing a survey is not kind nor is it considerate.

The supervisor’s response was just something like, this hour is really hard but we just have to get through it and keep calling.

Hour?  I was calling East Coast voters until 10 p.m.?  OMG.  What have I gotten myself into?

At 10, we were switched to Central Time jobs.  Yes.  In Central Time it was already 9 p.m. and these potential respondents were VERY peevish.

Somehow, I survived my first weekend of shifts.  I had Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off but in the back of my head was that Friday shift.  Friday night, I had two respondents drop the F-bomb on me several times when I called.  I was shaken but I wasn’t angry with THEM.  Yes, they were very rude and didn’t need to curse at me but, after all, I might’ve woken them up or interrupted some pleasurable activity with my intrusive late-night call. 

I reached out to the supervisor.  Again, the response was basically: yes, it’s bad but suck it up and call.

I was being switched from one dialing system to another and getting fouled up remembering what to do when.  I read the notes and moved along slowly but they expected I would switch in five minutes.  I couldn’t.  The instructions on my cheat sheets weren’t all that clear and I had to carefully go step by step, like a toddler.

Last night was the corker.  It started really well.  I was speaking to an 89-year-old woman who still voted but tended to ramble as old people do.  We were at the closing questions when the supervisor’s voice was in my ear to hurry up and end the call.  When we were done, she said the job was bid at completing a survey in 15 minutes and I’d taken 25.  Oops.  Next time I should interrupt the respondent and say I have to move on or I’m going to get into trouble.  OKAY.

The following survey also went 20 minutes but that was because the respondent was very expansive during the open ends.  During training, the supervisor repeated over and over, “get down what they say verbatim.  Ver-ba-tim.  VER-ba-tim.”  So, I did.

I was switched from one state to two others.  As it got later, I still managed to connect with people and felt really good although I was discouraged to hear from so many tRump supporters.

Then I had to switch from one dialing system to the other, the difficult complicated one.  I got completely lost and tried to log in a couple times.  I finally succeeded but wasn’t receiving calls so I contacted tech.  It was the same guy from a week before but he was no longer jolly.  He took over my computer to fix whatever was going on and messaged me that I had too many of the sign in window open, and I did this wrong and messed up that and this should be easy, not hard.

Some of the stuff I was expected to know hadn’t been covered in the training at all.

So, he manipulated my screen as I sat there with my face burning and guts churning.  He messaged me: “Now go sign in.”

Um, no.  I don’t think so.  I’ve had enough.  So, I told him no, I’m signing out.  He was totally shocked and asked, your shift is over?  And I answered no but I’m signing out. I’ll contact HR.  So, I closed everything down just before 10, emailed the woman in HR I’d spoken to originally and just said I stopped early, didn’t feel well, unhappy here and this isn’t a good fit for us.  I didn’t go into all my grievances, just said this wasn’t a good fit.

She wished me well.

So, I’m looking for something part time, not full time, and not a job where I’m expected to call people so late at night.

I was really totally dismayed by one more thing:  of all my completed surveys about ¾ were with tRump supporters.  Even reading statements about the evil things Rethugs want to do did NOT sway them.  One doctor said to me: “I don’t care what they do.  No matter what, I’m voting the Republican line.”

A doctor.

It’s scary.

Why didn’t I get more Democratic voters?  There were tons of answering machines and wrong numbers.  Were those the Dems?  Were the no answers and busys because Dems were busy doing Other Stuff?

I have to hope so.  I have to hope.

 

Dealing With Stress & Anxiety

About a week ago, Robert Reich wrote a couple of columns about stress and anxiety.  We’ve got so much more sources of stress, which causes anxiety, anger and then depression.  In the first piece, one of the points he made are the resulting feelings from all that stress isn’t necessarily a mental illness.  I agree with that.

Being afraid of exposure/getting covid isn’t related to my usual depression/anxiety.  I am immunosuppressed and so I do worry about getting really sick.

The march toward fascism and all those worries and fears aren’t related to my usual depression/anxiety.  We are in real danger of losing our democracy.  I don’t want to live in a country in which I’ve lost fundamental freedoms.  Naturally I’m upset about the possibility.

Prices keep rising.  We are on a fixed income.  Worry and stress about how we’ll manage long term isn’t related to my usual depression/anxiety.  How the frig are we to afford everything when prices are going beyond our range?  And I’m not talking luxuries.  I mean food, power to the house, gas for the car and other essentials.

I get what Reich was referring to and I agree.

So, what happens? The Department of Health and Human Services is now is recommending that doctors screen for anxiety in adults under the age of 64.  Why don’t they screen for us seniors 65 and over?  It turns out there’s very little adequate measures for us old folk.  I guess it’s assumed we’re all just contentedly sitting in our rockers on the front porch.  Riiiight.

The next day, Reich asked how we cope with all this stress we’re under.  For me, and for many, conventional therapy and anti-depressants/anxiety meds are okay but they don’t help all that much because of powerlessness.  Therapy and pills can’t change my vulnerability to illness, losing democracy, or the ability to support myself.  What does help is getting back a sense of power.

How?  In the past I was an activist that marched, walked picket lines and sat in to support health care for all and accommodating the needs of people with disabilities.  I can’t do all that now BUT I can work phone banks supporting candidates who support our Constitution, want to protect our fundamental rights, and to treat everyone fairly.  I support Andy Kim, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex, and all the Dems running in swing or other states.  It gives me a real feeling of satisfaction; I’m not just sitting stewing and watching things happen.  I’m doing something.  The other thing that helps me deal with all the stress is writing in my private journal and in this blog.

There’s one more way I deal with all this stress and it’s all through Dan Rather’s piece this past Sunday: Please Take Care Of You.  The other best way for me to deal with stress is to relax with my family members where stressful news is verboten.  We catch up on what we’re doing and then watch a movie or series together.

Even more helpful than that is to go out and appreciate nature.  I find going to the ocean and walking on the beach or boardwalk to be very healing because the sounds of the waves are soothing and the salt spray is refreshing and pleasing.  The ocean isn’t all that close to us so my next choice is going to a park and walking one of the trails, communing with trees, birds, deer, and other walkers.  It’s in these places that I feel care and comfort from Nature.

That’s how I’m dealing with it.  How about you?

 

Why Are So Many People Dumb?

 

Lately I’ve only scanned headlines from Daily Sound & Fury because they give me agita.  Many of the articles are filled with capitalized paragraphs and that makes me feel like someone’s yelling at me.  The other reason I don’t read through articles anymore is because there’s a sense of hysteria to them.  It’s pretty clear they want their readers to get riled up.

Having said that, I was intrigued by one of their articles and followed the link to the website.  The article didn’t shout at me and didn’t do anything more but give more information about why so many people are dumb.  Check it out.  It’s pretty enlightening. Made Stupid.

Back from a worthwhile read?  I wonder what everyone thinks about the points made in the article?  I think about my exposure to TV/radio ads when I was a child (say from 1957 until adulthood) and compare it with that of my children who are millennials.  Luckily, during their toddler and preschool years, Rich and I worked opposite shifts so that one of us was always home caring for them.  They had play-outside time and play-inside time that involved toys and for short periods, TV or gaming.

When I was a kid, I was outdoors right after breakfast.  When the streetlights came on, I knew it was time to go home.  I did watch some TV like the Mickey Mouse club and I remember that it did influence me.  I needed to be a Mouseketeer and I sure needed those Mickey Mouse ears.  I must have been somewhere between 3 and 6.  My parents did get me a pair of ears and I wore them every time I watched the show.

I was lucky.  I wasn’t exposed to as many ads because I didn’t watch a lot of shows.  One big reason is that the TV was rarely on.  My parents were Deaf, and there was no such thing as closed captioning then.  They didn’t watch TV because it was too difficult to read speakers’ lips and was a frustrating experience.  However, we did watch Walt Disney, Ed Sullivan, and Combat whenever they were on TV.  My dad had a little residual hearing and enjoyed the performers on Ed Sullivan.  Combat was action packed and easy to follow.  Disney? Classic.  I don’t remember any of the commercials.

As I got older, the jingles and other nonsense went in one ear and out the other.  I’m like that now.  I prefer streaming TV with no commercials.  If I watch regular TV, I read through the commercials.  I didn’t get into the cosmetics, shampoo, cleaning supplies, clothes, cars and any of that other stuff that gets pushed.  The ads are dumb.  They promise the viewer or listener some wonderful things will happen if you don’t buy blah-blah.  It’s all hype.

I am proud that my kids aren’t dumb because of ads they’ve seen.  I am sure it’s because they had a parent with them to help them discern what was true and what was just a come-on.

The article points out that millennials and Gen Z kids probably didn’t have a parent at home with them.  Nowadays in a traditional family, both parents have to work to stay afloat with rapidly rising food and gas prices.  Single parents might have to work two jobs.  Who knows what kind of guidance they get from child care workers or babysitters?

My kids escaped this but some Gen Z kids are growing up in states that regulate what a teacher can and can’t teach.  The curriculums are dumbed down and, as a result, these kids being protected from “offense” don’t learn all the topics they need to know.  Books are banned from libraries and schools.  Many of those books are excellent reads and are banned because ultra-right-wing politicians and parents don’t like certain words or concepts in these books.  If kids are lucky and interested enough, they may find some of these titles at their local library.

Schools fail many students because of restrictions and a lack of funding.  The Rethuglicans never seem to want to adequately fund education.  I learned civics in 8^th grade.  Students today don’t get much civics; it doesn’t seem important.  The article said that half of our citizens can’t name the three branches of government.  How can you make a good decision as a voter if you don’t know how the branches of government work?

Other dumbness that people pick up:

Vaccines prevent disease.  Some vaccines eradicated a disease.  They’re required to attend school.  Yet many adults refuse the vaccine against covid.  Why?  Vaccines are effective.  But it seems these dumb ones believe the misinformation they hear and see.

I’ve been surveying voters in three different states.  More than half support TFG.  I want to ask WHY?  I can’t.  I have to be impartial and just read the questions verbatim.    They are supportive of all the good things the Democratic candidate has done but they would still go with the Repub candidate. Why?  I think it’s because they swallow TFG’s Kool-Aid and become numb to facts.  They’d vote for this clown even though the things he & the Rethuglicans want to do would hurt them.  Duh?

I’ve come to the conclusion that too much media exposure is bad.  I think it kills thinking brain cells of little ones who begin watching TV at such young ages.  They are manipulated to need “this & that” and believe what they see is real.  Growing up, the strong influence of commercials can surely change the thinking process of people exposed to them for long periods of time—like sitting in front of the TV for hours.

The article lists way to reduce the stupidity level of kids in school now.  It’s a nice list but it means that people need to care and get involved.  Do they?  How many adults aren’t swayed by all the BS on the air and on the Net?  I wonder.

Next time I want to focus on anxiety: life happenings, politics, aging, and etc.