After reading John Swales “The Concept of Discourse Community” (article), I learned more about the idea of a discourse community. How the language from one community can be completely foreign to others outside it. Our discussion in class last Thursday elaborated the six different factors that every discourse community should have. After spending the weekend deep in thought, I came to the realization that almost every job I’ve ever worked at is in some way a discourse community. For this blog, I’ll focus on my last job working in a warehouse.
Warehouse
My last job before going back to school involved working at a warehouse in a BestBuy. The job itself required the employees to work truck shipment that would be received and restocked around the store. On other days where there wasn’t any truck, employees would use a device called a telezone to “pick” products throughout the store for customers looking to pick up items they bought.
I tried my best to simplify what the job was but that really is the basis. Every truck day that our staff would come in began with a game plan of breaking into teams. this allowed us to know where and what each of us are focusing throughout the shift. On top of this, we have to unload the truck first which is where music comes into play.
Music is really important in staying motivated. On truck nights, we unload large shipments with over 1,500 to 3,000 pieces of product. Music became a way for many of us to socialize and grow bonds. I’m not joking, I had no interest in “mumble rap” before working there and now I have learned to appreciate a genre of music because of the people I worked with. I found it so fascinating that people can become a family in a work setting. They’re people I still interact with after leaving but we each communicated when working using code words over the walkie or just pointing at something in the warehouse and knowing exactly what to do with it.
Of course, employees from that work the retail end of the store are foreign to what the warehouse. They become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of product and where anything is located. Usually the don’t even bother trying to find something and look for one of us to help assist them in finding something. I bring this up because in a BestBuy store, it is literally two different worlds.
As a customer, you are introduced to the retail side of the store. Product is everywhere and there are employees in blue uniform who are (or at least should be) available to assist you. The ware house is sectioned off in the back and customers are not allowed in. Also, warehouse employees typically wear all black so they aren’t approached by customers to slow done their work. The dynamic between how each employee talks is honestly astounding. The next time you ever find yourself at a BestBuy, try to be aware of how employees act at the front compared to the warehouse. They are way more trained in communication and typically show an extroverted side. Warehouse is usually introverted and has no desire to talk with customers.
Lastly, I’m not trying to say that the warehouse and retail side are completely different worlds. They still interact and need each other to function the store as a whole. They help one another (or at least try to) and learn each others objectives. Managers give all employees a monthly evaluation to access each employee on what they are lacking and what they excel at. This is something that usually every job has but from my experience working here, I found it quite helpful in gauging what I needed to work towards. I’m not big on the whole “this is a family, not a job” but I did make lasting friendships with many co-workers who I would consider family outside of work. I guess that really is all that matters at the end of the day.
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