TSA is removing chairs from checkpoints, said the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, which represents workers and criticized the move as a “disregard for workers’ rights and safety" and added the chairs “serve as basic ergonomic and safety support for officers that stand and walk on hard surfaces all day.”
TSA confirmed the decision, saying: “This welcome change reinforces both our security posture and our commitment to hospitality by having these officers on their feet and alert. All officers must meet fitness for duty requirements to be capable of performing their vital national security function.”
Grocery executives believe that US consumers see sitting as lazy and standing as diligently working. Whether or not a sufficient percentage of consumers actually hold the belief should be irrelevant, but it’s a cultural norm (even though it’s objectively worse). The government is functioning as an employer in this case, and is somewhat equivalently failing its employees for the sake of perception by the public. The more important government failing to be angry about is that sitting isn’t protected by OSHA, and the bigger societal failing is that capitalism has suppressed unions to the point that they can’t effectively even win this as a reasonable concession.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90836431/why-dont-cashiers-in-the-u-s-get-to-sit-like-the-ones-in-europe
They stand in markets in Japan too. I wonder how many countries allow sitting vs standing.
If I owned the markets I’d let you all sit. The customers can sit too if they want. Ample chairs all around