The mechanical versus organic solidarity comparison can be expanded beyond analyzing cities and towns. Varying types of solidarity can be seen in the workplace, education system, families and even restaurants. Personally, I work in a small family-owned restaurant. Components of the smaller scale restaurant and how it functions are analogous to the typical qualities of mechanical solidarity. First off, the restaurant is very community based. It is located in a neighborhood of a small town in the west suburbs of Chicago. It often hosts get togethers for local leagues and even sponsors local baseball teams. In terms of the staff and roles there is minimal division of labor. Workers have multiple roles, and just about every worker can work a different job title. Waitresses double as bartenders and hostesses and on certain days of the week, bus their own tables. The busboys essentially keep the place running because of all the various roles they can fill. They can be dishwashers, take orders, be runners, and help cooks, bar backs and basically everything else that needs to be done in the place.
As a result of the minimal division of labor, there is an emphasis on the group in instead of individuals. We all work as a team to make the restaurant successful; there is a focus on the collective interest. If the bartender is overwhelmed, you help out by: taking orders, washing glasses, delivering drinks etc. There are a limited number of statuses. Within the restaurant there are only eight roles: waitress, bartender, busboy, dishwasher, cook, hostess, manager (sometimes), and the owners. There aren't varying levels of leadership like there are in larger chain restaurants. Finally, and perhaps the most important characteristic for the success of small family-owned restaurants, is that social interaction is based on intimate social contact. In a small family-owned restaurant, customers become connected with workers through personal interactions. We have regulars who come in on the same nights every week. The customers know most (if not all) the employees by name and many even know about their lives. The interactions are more personal, you get to know the people who come into the restaurant. I know my regulars, about their lives, kids, jobs and so on. You become part of the community formed by the restaurant and feel connected not only your coworkers, but the customers as well. This personal social interaction contributes to the mechanical solidarity of the family-owned restaurant.
The atmosphere and the community that a small family-owned restaurant creates fit Durkheim’s ideal type of mechanical solidarity quite well. Compared to chain restaurants, which align more with the model for organic solidarity, I believe that generally people enjoy their food and experience better in a small family-owned restaurant because of components of mechanic solidarity. Actually knowing those who are making and serving your food on a personal level makes the experience of dining out more enjoyable. Sure there are short comings to eating at a family-owned restaurant, but overall I think the sense of kinship that people feel to the restaurant community (plus the delicious home cooked food) is what keeps bringing people back.
Durkheim, Emile. 2004. Readings from Emile Durkheim. Ed. Kenneth Thompson. New York: Routledge.