The concept of acting your wage is not new - its how most people who make too little money to warrant extra effort act. In my neighborhood the last shift on week-nights at the grocery store is manned by a bunch of retirees - not sure why the demographic is skewed so senior for this specific schedule. It is safe to assume people in that age bracket are not working these unpleasant hours for the joy and fulfillment. More likely than not they were not able to retire as planned, still have bills to pay and people they are responsible for. The wages they get are no different from the high school kids bagging groceries after school - maybe a smidge higher given the odd shift hours.
If I ever happen to be there late in the evening near their closing time, these employees make sure they hustle everyone out the cash register and out the store a good fifteen minutes before official store closing time. In the last fifteen minutes all self-checkout machines are closed and no one can be found at the cash registers. Most doors are already closed except one.
These folks are all acting their wage - they don't want to stay a second past close of shift and if that means the last dozen customers have to be rushed out, frustrated and unhappy with their experience so be it. There is also the inverse behavior of people not acting their wage - being over-paid and holding titles for roles that they are not qualified for. That leads everyone else to wonder how these folks were hired and why they continue to be employed and even get promoted.
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