Employee Experience in Retail and Hospitality
Work, Employment & Society http://wes.sagepub.com Employee experience of aesthetic labour in retail and hospitality
Chris Warhurst and Dennis Nickson Work Employment Society 2007; 21; 103 DOI: 10.1177/0950017007073622 The online version of this article can be found at: http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/21/1/103
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of:
British Sociological Association
Additional services and information for Work, Employment & Society can be found at: Email Alerts: http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://wes.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav Citations http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/21/1/103
Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010
Work, employment and society
Copyright © 2007 BSA Publications Ltd® Volume 21(1): 103–120 [DOI: 10.1177/0950017007073622] SAGE Publications Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore
Employee experience of aesthetic labour in retail and hospitality
■
Chris Warhurst
University of Strathclyde
■
Dennis Nickson
University of Strathclyde
ABSTRACT
Interactive service job growth in the UK is significant. Analysis of labour within these services has tended to focus on employee attitudes, framed through emotional labour. Such analysis is not incorrect, just partial. Some employers also demand aesthetic labour, or employees with particular embodied capacities and attributes that appeal to the senses of customers. Reporting survey and focus group data, this article explores aesthetic labour as it is experienced by interactive service employees in the retail and hospitality industries. Issues examined are recruitment and selection; image and appearance; uniforms and dress codes; skills and training. By extending awareness of aesthetic labour so that both employee attitude and appearance are
Chris Warhurst and Dennis Nickson Work Employment Society 2007; 21; 103 DOI: 10.1177/0950017007073622 The online version of this article can be found at: http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/21/1/103
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of:
British Sociological Association
Additional services and information for Work, Employment & Society can be found at: Email Alerts: http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://wes.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav Citations http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/21/1/103
Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010
Work, employment and society
Copyright © 2007 BSA Publications Ltd® Volume 21(1): 103–120 [DOI: 10.1177/0950017007073622] SAGE Publications Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore
Employee experience of aesthetic labour in retail and hospitality
■
Chris Warhurst
University of Strathclyde
■
Dennis Nickson
University of Strathclyde
ABSTRACT
Interactive service job growth in the UK is significant. Analysis of labour within these services has tended to focus on employee attitudes, framed through emotional labour. Such analysis is not incorrect, just partial. Some employers also demand aesthetic labour, or employees with particular embodied capacities and attributes that appeal to the senses of customers. Reporting survey and focus group data, this article explores aesthetic labour as it is experienced by interactive service employees in the retail and hospitality industries. Issues examined are recruitment and selection; image and appearance; uniforms and dress codes; skills and training. By extending awareness of aesthetic labour so that both employee attitude and appearance are
Citations: http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/21/1/103 Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010 Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010 104 March 2007 of this new economy (Crouch, 2004) Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010 Employee experience of aesthetic labour Warhurst & Nickson Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010 106 Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010 Employee experience of aesthetic labour Warhurst & Nickson Downloaded from http://wes.sagepub.com at AUT LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION on May 15, 2010 108