Abstract
K athryn, the newly promoted supervisor of a large supermarket, is asked to check something in the meat freezer. As she does so, she hears the door lock behind her. It is closing time and she knows that everyone leaves promptly. Will she spend the next 12 hours in the freezer, only to be found frozen solid in the morning? Twelve hours at these temperatures would mean certain death, but Kathryn does not panic. Why? Her manager had let her know that new supervisors in the store are commonly subjected to being locked in the freezer for five minutes. Kathryn remained calm because she had been prepared for this practice. Otherwise she might have freaked out at the thought of dying, and even after she had been rescued, she probably would have angrily concluded that she was working with a bunch of savages and quit the job. But Kathryn knew she was being hazed, and therefore could go along with the gag. Practical jokes, intentionally meaningless or humiliating tasks, and unnecessary assignments are all forms of hazing. The language is explicit: learning the ropes, paying your dues, passing muster, and earning your stripes are all terms referring to the rites of passage from outsider to insider. Newcomers are hazed to test them for potential membership. Will they fit in, be loyal to the group, be reliable, have a sense of humor? The tests for compatibility are varied: new to the job, a counter clerk at McDonald's is told to inventory pickle slices; a hospital orderly is asked to look for the fallopian tube; a bank teller has her keys hidden; an engineer is given cleaning jobs; and a new lawyer gets the most boring cases.
Published Version
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