Answer to Question 1
Alienation has many sources. Specialization has led workers to feel that they have meaningless jobs and are contributing insignificantly to the business. It is difficult, for example, for assembly-line workers to take pride in producing an automobile when they attach only an ignition wire. Working for a large business or corporation and knowing that you can readily be replaced leads to feelings of powerlessness and lowered self-esteem. Not being involved in the decision-making process and being aware that supervisors do not want workers to make waves also lead to feelings of powerlessness and meaninglessness. In some businesses, machines have been developed to do most of the work. This automation (for example, assembly lines in the auto industry) has led workers to feel they are insignificant cogs in the production process. Even the pace at which they work is controlled by the assembly-line machinery. Jobs that offer little opportunity to be creative also contribute to alienation. Such jobs include typist, receptionist, janitor, garbage collector, assembly-line worker, or telephone operator. Most American workers do not hold jobs they had planned for; they are doing what they do for such reasons as simple chance or lack of choice. As a result, many people feel trapped in their jobs.
Alienation also derives from jobs that do not provide opportunities to learn, a sense of accomplishment, or the chance to work with compatible people. Many authorities believe that alienation leads to acts of disruption in the production process-work of poor quality, high rates of absenteeism, and vandalism or theft of company property. Dissatisfaction with one's job is a useful indicator of alienation at work. Studies on job satisfaction show wide differences, according to vocation, in worker satisfaction with their jobs. Many jobs are simply dull. For workers who already earn enough to live adequately, additional income cannot always offset the meaninglessness of such jobs.
Answer to Question 2
True