Onerous is defined in this Winn-Dixie excerpt as simply meaning the application process is burdensome. The reason why an applicant may feel the questions are burdensome can be from what the questions ask. The applicant may feel the questions are too much of a bother to answer because the job may not provide enough benefits to exert the effort. In most cases, the applicant needs employment and will accept any job to earn money, so will he/she complete the application regardless.

The nature of this job is for low skilled general labor that requires little training. What Ehrenreich is trying to prove is that companies extort low skilled workers into these jobs by making them feel they must possess higher qualities to be hired. In the end, this effort only produces a job that pays them low wages. What she is also trying to prove in this context is that low wage workers will begin to except this because they feel they don't have the skills to earn more. Companies know this and exploit it.