Spectral lines: Dead end - whose fault?

Listen to this, from the op ed page of a recent issue of The New York Times: "It is exquisite boredom. We arrive for work at 8 in the morning and stuff envelopes until 4:30 in the afternoon. To help get us through another day of mindless labor, my fellow workers and I listen to the radio, discuss our personal lives and interests, complain about the lousy wages, and, by midafternoon, struggle to stay awake. On the slowest days, we vie for a chance to get out and run an errand, like hungry dogs fighting over a scrap of meat.