The Weekend, Serving as a Break from our Corporate Selves

Leigh Foster, Fall 2003
    
    Humans portray definitive roles on the stage of life. We wake up in the morning, put on a suit or other costume fitting our position in life’s play, act as businessman or woman, painter, or lawyer for a precise nine hours, return home to greet and interact with family, and go to sleep. There is little room for movement.  Erving Goffman explored this idea of the “dramas of individual enactments and reeactments” in his dramaturgical theory, or as Peter Kivisto writes, “the theatrical performance to describe the ‘fronts’ that people select to perform” (Kivisto 1998: 116-117).  An exception to the role enacted above, and central to the understanding of different roles played at different times and in different atmospheres, are the two short days at the end of the workweek cherished and coveted by all human beings: the weekend.
    The weekend serves as a time to escape from the front stage of our corporate selves. We are exempt from our precise, hourly schedules, and afforded time for our hobbies, families, and ourselves. Unshackled from our rigid suits or uniforms, we mesh into the rest of society wearing jeans, thus eliminating the differentiation between occupations seen in the workplace. Our “weekend selves,” despite the drastic change from our workday selves, still embody the characteristics of dramaturgical theory, maintaining our impression management through Saturday and Sunday.
    Sitting in a local Dunkin Donuts, one can clearly see the differences of selves between the weekday and weekend. Monday through Friday, the five days we play the role of the employed, the franchise is filled with people in dark suits. These customers, primarily men, are all costumed according to their profession. There is a large percentage of suits, some logoed uniforms for various landscaping and painting services, yet very few jeans or other casual attire. The customers enter the store with a direct mission: coffee. As seen in my field notes,

One man in a business suit entered, head down, briefly checked his watch, held the door for the woman behind him followed by a quick “good morning” and progressed to the line. As he waited for approximately 3 minutes, he checked his watch four more times and mumbled two more “good mornings” to others entering or exiting the establishment. Finally when he made it to the front of the line, he ordered a large black coffee, paid with exact change, briefly held the door for the man behind him, and was off to start the day, wherever that may be.

    Before work, Dunkin Donuts customers are on a mission to get their morning’s fill of caffeine to survive the stress involved with employment. Although caffeine is proven to enhance one’s alertness, it has transformed into a coveted drug motivating society to face the day. Bell and McGrane write, “ We are born into a culture, and this culture, in large part, determines what it means to be human and how we are to express this humanity in and through ourselves. Our culture, in large part, determines who we are, determines our identity” (Bell & McGrane 1999, 140). Coffee is part of our culture, serving as a symbol of tension release and alertness. Consequently, every Monday through Friday, Dunkin Donuts is packed with professionals, all seeking a quick cup of coffee before heading off to play the role of the employee.
    Along with their large cup of coffee, about half of the weekday customers ordered a muffin (mostly the lower-fat versions) or a bagel. Very few ordered what one would think would be Dunkin Donut’s staple, donuts. By ordering a small bagel or low-fat muffin, work-week customers are playing the role of the “health-aware.”  The media is saturated with issues over health and diet. Therefore, by ordering the healthiest menu items offered by the restaurant, customers are adhering to the micro-social norms of individual behavior motivated by the media (Adler & Adler 2001, 132).
    The weekend, however, allows us to put aside our business-like, front stage behavior. Saturdays and Sundays at Dunkin Donuts bring in an entirely different crowd consisting of blue-jean wearing men and post-game uniformed youngsters. The customers are generally more relaxed, reflected not only in their dress but also in their behavior. The weekend customers are open for conversation, offering more than the simple “good-morning”.
A man entered the store with his son dressed in youth hockey sweats, located an acquaintance, and addressed the man and his similar-aged son by name. He smiled and added “Great game, huh? That third period?” the other man nodded and added “Yeah! See you next week Chuck, say hi to Marianne.”
    This conversation, along with others, demonstrates a more relaxed front, offering additional time for interaction without consequence (i.e., being late to work). Yet it also demonstrates one’s need to “maintain the degree of interactional readiness [often] excepted of them” (Cahill 2001: 139). The man observed in Dunkin Donuts had to be ready to converse with others despite a more relaxed attitude.  
    Instead of grabbing a coffee and leaving as quickly as possible, the weekend allows the time and stress-free environment to sit and enjoy breakfast. Opposed to the weekday muffin or bagel, the weekend customer is more opt to order breakfast sandwiches, hot chocolate, and of course, doughnuts. Saturday and Sunday not only offer a break from stiff clothing and work, but also serve as a time to forget one’s usual health routines. People are more likely to order unhealthy food items saying, “What the heck? It’s the weekend!”
The change in food options from the weekday also differs because of the types of customers.  During the weekday, businessmen and women, and mother’s with children order the healthiest options available. On the weekend, the store is filled primarily with middle-aged men and their young children. These dads are generally less health-conscious, and often give in to their child’s requests. This shows another interesting distribution of roles between mother and father, and when during the week they must take center stage in childcare.
    During the weekend, male customers, despite a significant unleashing of personal, front stage behavior, are still performing in life’s play. The weekend serves as a break from work and a time to unwind; yet one must retain his or her impression management. Although one displays a relaxed front on the weekends, he or she is still maintaining the role of their casual, unperturbed, “weekend self”, or as Cahill writes,  “Keeping [or maintaining] one’s personal front” (Cahill 2001: 139). Some customers of Dunkin Donuts seemed to relish the weekend, giving off a sense of complete relaxation and openness to conversation. Others, mostly men, seemed a bit frazzled with their new task at hand: kids.
This change from weekday to weekend demonstrates Goffman’s “cross in personal character” (Cahill 2001: 141).  The differences in the ways customers of Dunkin Donuts dress, allow themselves to converse, order, and eat demonstrate the differentiation in front stage behavior from the weekday to the weekend. The weekend is one of “ the central values and behavioral standards that hold our lives together” (Cahill 2001: 141). The two days allowing a break from the typical nine-hour workweek give us a new sense of self. This change in character demonstrates that culture determines our identity (1999, 140). One can vary from a sharp, withheld businessman to a carefree hockey dad as a result of the day of the week. These varying fronts are crucial to Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, proving our shifting roles on the stage of life due to our surroundings.

References
Bell, Inge, and McGrane, Bernard. 1999. This Book is not Required. Pine Forge Press, CA.

Cahill, Spencer E. 2001. “Meanwhile Backstage: Behavior in Public Bathrooms”. Pages 132-141 in Patricia A.Adler and Peter Adler, editors, Sociological Odyssey: Contemporary Readings in Sociology. Belmost, CA:Wadsworth.

Kivisto, Peter. 1998. Key Ideas in Sociology. Pages 116-118. Pine Forge Press, CA.

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