Why are so many Americans forced to work standing up – unlike their president? | Arwa Mahdawi
Airports’ TSA staff have been stripped of their chairs in the name of ‘professionalism’. Most supermarket staff have never had them. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is seated at his desk – and apparently snoozing Great news for everyone who is soon to fly via a US airport: the Trump administration has just elevated the travel experience. You still risk getting arrested by immigration agents and thrown into a detention…
Key points
- The Trump administration removed chairs at TSA travel document checking stations.
- The government said standing reinforces professionalism and security.
- US supermarket cashiers have long stood, unlike European counterparts.
The Trump administration has removed all chairs at Transportation Security Administration travel document checking stations at US airports. The government argued that "maintaining a standing posture helps reinforce professionalism" and strengthens security and hospitality. Border patrol and customs officers were not subject to the same policy.
The change means TSA staff, who are described as poorly paid, will remain on their feet throughout their shifts. The article also notes that TSA agents and other federal employees worked without pay for several weeks during government shutdowns in Trump's second term.
Standing in US workplaces
The article says TSA agents are not the only US workers who stand during shifts. Cashiers at US supermarkets have traditionally been forced to stand while working, unlike their European and British counterparts.
The piece attributes this to a Protestant work ethic and a lack of labour laws, adding that sitting is seen as laziness by some American consumers. It notes numerous right-to-sit lawsuits, and that seated cashiers remain unusual, with Aldi an exception because chairs make workers more efficient.
maintaining a standing posture helps reinforce professionalism
— the government
Different rules for officials
The article contrasts standing workers with high-flyers, saying the US president often looks as if he is snoozing at his desk, possibly because he stays up all night posting memes.
It adds that members of Congress could keep collecting their salaries during shutdowns unless they explicitly chose not to.
