Class and the workplace

[Nikia]

In any workplace organization of any size, there are differences in social class. Occasionally this might not be the same as their rank within the organization, such as a retired person or spouse of someone of a higher class doing a low status job, but if it often is. For example, we have a number of low paid temps, many who are truly poor. On the other end, we have corporate managers who visit us occasionally. There's salaried and hourly. There's whether you attend certain meetings. There's whether you can be late without penalty. There's whether you punch in with a card, log your own time onto your computer, or not all. One of our managers talked about another plant where they banned unscheduled bathroom breaks as if it was a justifiable thing, but always uses the bathroom whenever he wants.
What are markers of classes at your workplace? Does this affect how you interact with people in your organization at and outside of work? How does this reflect class in general in this country?

[Trillo]

1. I thought this was an education thread. NT

[Nikia]

2. I wonder if this thread doesn't get replies because people aren't interested

Or whether this is too personal.
In my position, I deal with people at all levels of the organization and feel like I am always negotiating certain lines. I have since childhood but I've been thinking about it a lot lately.

[tularetom]

3. I'm retired but for me it was the boss's parking place right by the door

It wasn't marked or anything but there was an unwritten policy that the boss had the parking place closest to the door so he wouldn't get as wet as the peons in bad weather. Even though he was always the last one there in the morning. Used to piss me off to get there at 7:30 and have to walk by that empty parking place in a rainstorm.

Then he retired and I got his job. Did I use that parking place? Bet your ass I did.

There were a lot of other sort of informal perks, but that's one I remember.

[Nikia]

4. The place that I worked before also had a boss's parking spot too

I remember that one day a new employee parked there and was later gently told that he had to move his car and never park there again.
At my current workplace, I have never parked in the closest parking spots out of fear that they are reserved for someone more important.

[Populist_Prole]

5. A place I used to work at was. Very institutionalized classism. Very condescending.

Very big industrial plant. Salaried employees got to park closer. They ate in a much more pleasantly outfitted lunchroom. Hourly employees were given the 3rd degree interrogation if they were seen out of their specific work areas. Salaried types could come and go as they please. Salaried types, even temps, looked at us hourly types like we were a lower form of life. This was during the mid-late 80's when yuppies were really feeling their oats, and media culture egged them on. It was the beginning of my pathological dislike of white collar types which continues to today.