Case Study #8

“Mani Lost His Job”

Manipi, or Mani as his friends call him, is a 42-year-old Native American, married factory worker with two children. He lives in a small town in western Pennsylvania that is located about an hour away from the nearest major city. The factory where he works manufactures chairs. Mani has been working the graveyard shift, from 11pm to 7am for about six years. The hours are terrible and he never really got used to them. He tries to sleep when he gets home in the early morning, but finds it difficult because his children are getting ready for school at that time and his wife is getting ready for work. Even if he waits to go to bed until everyone leave the house, Mani still has trouble sleeping in the daytime. He is tired all the time, but at least he get some sleep on the weekends. Sometimes Mani thinks that if he could just get enough sleep he would be a truly happy man.

Between their two incomes, Many and his wife are able to comfortably support their family. They bought a small house. There’s always food on the table, and their children have decent clothes to wear. The house, the food, and the clothes are not fancy, but always adequate, until recently. Mani just lost his job.

Mani’s plant was bought out by a rival overseas company and initially there seemed to be no change in the production schedule. Then one Friday Mani received notice this would be his last day and told to take all his personal belongings with him at the end of his shift. The factory was shutting down immediately to be retooled as a totally automated production line. Mani was devastated by the news and so were his coworkers.

It seemed like the chair factory had always been there and always would be. People from Mani’s community had fathers who worked there and had retired from that company. Some even had grandfathers who had worked there. They thought their jobs were secure. They were wrong.

Mani and his coworkers always took pride in their work. They crafted their chairs by hand, using tools their fathers had used before them and they built an excellent product. Mani was especially proud of the intricate designs he made on the backs of the chairs he produced. His skill earned him the respect of his coworkers.

Now, two months after the closing, Mani is not proud of very much. He has not been able to find any other work, and he is embarrassed by the prospect of not being able to support his family. Although he and his wife have been able to make ends meet temporarily because of her job and his unemployment compensation, he is not sure what will happen when that runs out. How will they meet their mortgage, or put food on the table much less save for retirement?

Depending on his wife’s income has been especially difficult for Mani. He believes that he should be the primary breadwinner, but his wife has been incredibly supportive since the plant closing. She is constantly trying to boost his self-esteem and has never complained once about the things they had to give up. Mani loves her very much and wishes he could do more for her and for his children, who he adores. He would give anything to go back to being tired all the time if he could have his old job back. He feels useless and incompetent.

Using Chapter 15 as your guideline, address the following issues or questions as they relate to Maslow’s need hierarchy:

• Which of Maslow’s needs were met for Mani before he was laid off?
• Which of Maslow’s needs were met for Mani after he was laid off?
• Which of Maslow’s needs were not met for Mani after he was laid off?

Rubric

Case Study Rubric