Service Sector Workers Research Articles

COVID-19 employment shocks and safety net expansion: Health effects on displaced workers

COVID-19 precipitated sharp job losses, concentrated in the service sector. Prior research suggests that such shocks would negatively affect health and wellbeing. However, the nature of the pandemic crisis was distinct in ways that may have mitigated any such negative effects, and historic expansions in unemployment insurance (UI) may have buffered workers from negative health consequences. We draw on employer-employee linked cross-sectional (N = 15,219) and panel (N = 3307) data from service sector workers to estimate the effects of job loss on health and wellbeing during COVID-19. Using employer fixed-effects, lagged dependent variables, and models that focus on job loss due to establishment closure to minimize confounding, we find negative effects of unemployment on health and wellbeing. However, in periods when UI was most generous or in cases where UI fully replaced pre-job loss wages, unemployed workers who received UI were no worse off than those who remained employed. Although UI protected against worsening health, receiving generous UI benefits did not confer a health advantage relative to working at the height of the pandemic.

Labor market pathways to job quality mobility in the service sector: Evidence from the “Great Resignation”

Since the mid-1970s, there has been a sharp rise in the prevalence of “bad jobs” in the U.S. labor market, characterized by stagnant wages, unstable work schedules, and limited fringe benefits. Scholarly, policy, and public debate persists, however, about whether these jobs can serve as steppingstones to intra-generational job quality mobility or are instead “poverty traps.” While scholarship increasingly recognizes the multi-dimensional nature of job quality, prior research on intra-generational job mobility overwhelmingly estimates only wage mobility and generally focuses on estimating the degree of mobility, to the exclusion of the contexts and mechanisms that foster such mobility. We draw on new panel data collected from 8600 hourly service sector workers between 2017 and 2022 to estimate short-run mobility into good jobs, defined as paying at least $15/hour, having a stable work schedule, and offering paid sick leave, employer-sponsored health insurance, and retirement benefits. Overall, we find that mobility into such “good jobs” is low. However, we show that the rate of transition into “good jobs” is strongly conditioned by local labor market conditions: during the “Great Resignation” and in low state-month unemployment periods, nearly twice the share of workers transitioned to “good jobs” as in less favorable contexts, particularly workers who changed sector as opposed to staying at the same firm or taking new jobs in the service sector. Notably, during periods of labor market tightness, workers who stayed at the same employer had similar rates of mobility into “good jobs” as those who changed employers within the sector.

Centre party, district magnitude, and wage inequality in service economy

This paper aims to elucidate the variations in wage inequality within the service industry across different nations. Scholars have emphasised the pivotal role of policies designed to balance flexibility and job security in the service sector, crucial for fostering its growth while mitigating wage disparities. We argue that the balance between flexibility and security of service sector employment is most likely to emerge under centre party governments in high-magnitude electoral systems. Centre parties, owing to their political detachment from organised labour and industry, encounter fewer obstacles in representing the unorganised interests of service sector workers. Furthermore, high-district magnitude systems incentivise centre parties to build comprehensive coalitions that address the diverse concerns of service sector workers. Our empirical analysis, spanning 14 OECD countries from 1995 to 2007, demonstrates that service sector wage inequality diminishes as district magnitude and the cabinet share of centre parties increase.

Service Sector Work Under Pressure From New Technologies and Artificial Intelligence – Lessons From a Number of Foresight Studies

The use of new technologies is becoming increasingly widespread in the world of work. Robotisation in industry is well known, but there are many uses in service activities that go unnoticed because they do not involve major changes to work processes. Yet they can have a significant influence on working conditions. Other uses in the service sector are leading to major changes, the scale of which means that they are completely overhauling working methods. The example of cycle-delivered meals shows that the social context means that these new forms of work can be difficult to adapt to ensure workers' health. The increasing deployment of artificial intelligence could multiply the number of such cases in the years to come, so we need to be vigilant about the changes in the daily lives of service workers that will ensue.

Class differences in precarity and welfare priorities within Europe’s center-left coalitions

Mainstream European left-wing parties have seen their traditional class base evolve in postindustrial economies. In response, these parties have adjusted their platforms to adopt policies that aim to secure positions for workers in a more volatile labor market through education and training. But how does the electoral appeal of this “social investment” paradigm compare to that of the older welfare paradigm that passively distributes benefits to the poor and inactive? Using cross-country data from two surveys, I find that the policy preferences of industrial workers respond differently to labor market precarity than do those of service sector workers, particularly sociocultural professionals. Further, industrial workers who prefer traditional welfare policies are less likely to vote for the center-left than professionals, even if those professionals hold similar policy priorities. These results help explain the center-left’s recent electoral trends while also highlighting current limitations on building cross-class political coalitions in postindustrial economies.

Fuwuyuan on Film: Cinema, Socialist Education, and Service Labor from the Great Leap Forward to Reform and Opening Up

As industrial and agricultural production kicked into overdrive during the Great Leap Forward, so too did cinematic production. Factories and agricultural collectives promoted labor models, and the film industry created new cinematic models of heroic production workers. At the same time, valorization of production labor heightened the alienation of workers in the “nonproductive” service sector. To address this situation, service sector work units nominated their own model workers, and the film industry brought tales of service workers to audiences nationwide. Through a close reading of three such films— Fuwuyuan 服务员 (1958), produced during the Great Leap Forward; Manyi bu manyi 满意不满意 (1963), produced just after the Great Leap Forward; and Duan panzi de guniang 端盘子的姑娘 (1981), produced shortly after the implementation of market reforms—this article charts the evolution of cinematic discourse on the value of service work in the economy and society of socialist and early post-socialist China.

Can't Catch a Break: Intersectional Inequalities at Work.

The labor market is the site of longstanding and persistent inequalities across race and gender groups in hiring, compensation, and advancement. In this paper, we draw on data from 13,574 hourly service-sector workers to extend the study of intersectional labor market inequalities to workers' experience on the job. In the service sector, where workers are regularly expected to be on their feet for long hours and to contend with workloads that are intense and unrelenting, regular break time is an essential component of job quality and general well-being. Yet, we find that Black women are less likely than their counterparts to get a break during their work shift. Although union membership and laws mandating work breaks are effective in increasing access to breaks for workers overall, they do not ameliorate the inequality Black women face in access to work breaks within the service sector. A sobering implication is that worker power and labor protections can raise the floor on working conditions but leave inequalities intact. Our findings also have implications for racial health inequalities, as the routine daily stress of service sector takes a disproportionate toll on the health of Black women.

Overwork Impacts on Low-Wage Workers: Insights from the Food Manufacturing Sector in Oregon and Washington

Unstable scheduling refers to such employer practices as last-minute schedule changes, lack of advance notice, requiring employees to be on-call, split shifts, “clopening,” and variable hours and shift times. Evidence has shown that such practices can lead to underwork, or involuntary part-time hours, particularly for service-sector workers. But another, less-explored dimension of unstable scheduling practices—and the focus of this analysis—is overwork. Overwork stems from practices that can limit the ability of workers to get adequate rest and can heighten the bodily and emotional hazards that workers experience. We identify the following forms of unstable scheduling practices that constitute overwork: • Long work days of over eight hours/day • Long work weeks of over 40 hours/week and/or over five days/week • Long stretches of over seven days without days off • Lack of sufficient breaks during shifts These multiple dimensions of unstable scheduling are sometimes layered together. For instance, workers can experience both optional and mandatory overtime, which can extend both their work day and/or their work week. When workers are assigned mandatory overtime, they face risk of penalty if they refuse to work these extended hours, including potential loss of employment. In addition, workers may experience combinations of overwork, underwork, or other unstable scheduling practices within one job, or as they move between multiple jobs to cobble together full-time, year-round employment, especially if working in an industry with high turnover and widespread seasonality. These combinations compound the strain that workers experience.

Analysis of Levels of Job Satisfaction Based on Biographical Characteristics: A Study on Service Sector Workers in Province of Lampung

Job satisfaction is a form of welfare that must be obtained by an individual in his work. There are many variables that affect the level of job satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in levels of job satisfaction based on biographical characteristics of service sector workers in Province of Lampung. The research sample was 196 people who were taken purposively by using a questionnaire in data collection. Data collection was carried out using the Google form application which was distributed to respondents through social media and other communication media. Data analysis was carried out quantitatively using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation. The results showed that biographical characteristics represented by age, length of work, gender, and marital status had a relationship with job satisfaction in service sector workers in Province of Lampung. Statistically, age has a negative, very weak and significant relationship with job satisfaction. Meanwhile, length of work has a negative, very weak, and insignificant relationship with job satisfaction. On average, the satisfaction level of male workers is higher than that of female workers. The average level of job satisfaction of workers with married status is higher than workers who are not married.

Racial/ethnic and gender inequities in the sufficiency of paid leave during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the service sector.

Access to paid family and medical leave (PFML), including leave to care for a seriously ill loved one or recover from one's own serious illness, conveys health and economic benefits for workers and their families. However, without a national PFML policy, access to paid leave remains limited and unequal. Previous work documenting inequitable access by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity primarily focuses on parental leave, measures theoretical access to paid leave rather than actual leave uptake, and lacks an accounting for why workers of color and women may have less access to PFML. We extend this literature by looking at leave-taking for medical needs or caregiving among a high-risk population during the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw on data from 2595 service-sector workers surveyed by the Shift Project in 2020 and 2021 to estimate inequities in leave uptake among workers who experienced qualifying events. We then estimate the relative importance of worker demographic characteristics, qualifying event types (medical vs. caregiving leave), proxies for access to state and employer PFML policies, job characteristics, and ultimately within-firm differences to these gaps. Overall, one-fifth of workers reported sufficient leave. Women are significantly more likely than men to report insufficient or no leave. Hispanic and Black workers are more likely to take insufficient or no leave, respectively, but these differences were attenuated when controlling for covariates. The dearth of PFML laws leaves women and workers of color without access to leave that is paid and of sufficient duration when facing a qualifying event.

The relationship between cooks’ flow experience, job satisfaction and subjective well-being

ABSTRACT In this study, the relationship between flow experience, job satisfaction, and subjective well-being was analyzed. Based on the literature review, four main hypotheses of the study were determined. Data from 412 cooks working in İstanbul were used to test the hypotheses. According to the findings of the research, flow experience positively affects job satisfaction and subjective well-being. Job satisfaction also positively affects subjective well-being. In addition, according to the test results of the hypothesis established on the mediation effect of job satisfaction, it was determined that the flow experience positively affected subjective well-being with the full mediation effect of job satisfaction. The results of the study have significant conceptual and practical implications for increasing the subjective well-being of service sector workers such as cooks.

ФОРМУВАННЯ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ КВАЛІФІКОВАНИХ РОБІТНИКІВ У ПРОЦЕСІ КУРСОВОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ В НАВЧАЛЬНИХ ЦЕНТРАХ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ СФЕРИ ПОСЛУГ

Relevance: The article is driven by the need to develop professional competence in future skilled service sector workers through course training in training centers of service sector enterprises. The aim of the article is to identify general trends in the formation of professional competence of future skilled service sector workers in the process of course training in training centers of service sector enterprises. Methods: Study of scientific sources, legislative, normative-legal documents, empirical data – to identify general trends in the formation of professional competence of future skilled service sector workers in the process of course training in training centers of service sector enterprises. Results: Based on the analysis of modern legislative, normative-legal documents, research of scientific sources, and empirical data, the general trends in the formation of professional competence of future skilled service sector workers in the process of course training in training centers of service sector enterprises have been identified. Conclusions: The formation of professional competence in skilled workers during course training in training centers of service sector enterprises is a relevant process under martial law conditions, where due to migration processes, mobilization, and demographic problems in the country, there is an acute need for professional training and retraining of skilled personnel over short periods; this process faces several difficulties related to the reduction of production, financial and economic instability in the country, and insufficient development of flexible educational programs for short-term training and acquisition of partial professional qualifications.

Occupational Psychosocial Risks and Quality of Professional Life in Service Sector Workers with Sensory Processing Sensitivity.

The aim of this study was to analyze the role of sensory processing sensitivity in the perception of stress under certain working conditions and its relationship with indicators of quality of professional life, in service sector workers. The participants (n = 3180) completed the Spanish versions of HSPS-S, CoPSoQ and ProQoL. The results show that exposure to certain working conditions represents a risk to the quality of professional life in workers of different fields, such as education, healthcare, hospitality and administration/management. The presence of high sensitivity is associated with poorer quality of professional life, specifically burnout and compassion fatigue. This study demonstrates the need to develop prevention programs aimed at managing stress by improving the working conditions, in order to adequately address sensory processing sensitivity and, consequently, promote the quality of professional life of service sector workers who present high sensitivity.

Differential efficacy of physical exercise and mindfulness during lunch breaks as internal work recovery strategies: a daily study

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify whether daily activities during the lunch break, performed before eating, are associated with improvements in several indicators related to recovery from work stress. No existing studies examine the daily effects of sitting mindfulness meditation and aerobic physical exercise practiced during lunch break as daily internal work recovery activities. This three-armed randomized controlled trial was carried out over 22 working days with service sector workers (n = 94, age mean, 46.8) The RCT was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT03728062. The mindfulness group received a mindfulness-based intervention (sitting meditation), while the physical exercise group practiced an aerobic exercise program with the same time intervals as the mindfulness group (15–30 minutes); the third group was the control group. We measured daily effects on fatigue, psychological detachment, sleep quality, stress symptoms, and attention problems. Measurements of daily variables were collected through an ad hoc App. Growth curve analysis reveals that mindfulness and physical exercise can effectively reduce fatigue, stress boschphysicalBosch physical exercise significantly improved sleep quality.

Trends, relationship, and model of selected service sector workers in Malaysia: Physiological responses of mental workload and mental fatigue during performing real-time tasks

Service sector is a job that is considered exposed to high mental demand. There is lack of technique to measure issues related to the mental workload and mental fatigue levels among workers. Moreover, no studies have yet developed a model to predict mental fatigue especially for service sector workers. It is necessary to investigate mental workload and mental fatigue in real time working activities. The main purpose of this study was to identify the trends and relationship between mental workload and mental fatigue level among service sector workers. Ten participants with a mean age of 35.00±8.62 (SD) years took part in the study. Two experiments in Without Rest (WoR) and With Rest (WR) segments involving data entry and arithmetic tasks were conducted. Physiological measures using Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electrooculogram (EOG) and heart rate (HR) were assessed while participants were performing the tasks. The result shows that EEG alpha signal was significantly higher at the end of WR compared to WoR segment (p<0.05). Comparison between WoR and WR segments for each task show that HR of WR tasks were significantly lower in all tasks (p<0.05). This study developed seven mental workload and mental fatigue conceptual models with strong variables correlations (r>0.05) to evaluate the variability of both parts of two types of activities, namely, data entry and arithmetic tasks. The findings highlighted that validated parameters and methods for mental fatigue and mental workload measures are brain signals and heart rate monitoring, and task performance measure. Significant findings of the study could be as a reference for organizations to plan and manage resources by optimizing mental workload condition and minimizing mental fatigue occurrence

Creating inclusivity through boundary work? Zooming in on low-wage service sector work

Workers in the low-wage service sector represent a sociodemographically heterogeneous and particularly vulnerable group in terms of job security, job quality and health implications. However, organizational inclusion research has largely neglected this group. In contrast, this article builds on a qualitative study of a Dutch aircraft cleaning company in order to assess the ‘inclusivity of inclusion approaches’ for less privileged groups of employees. By reconstructing how managers and cleaners draw/rework boundaries, we identify certain configurations of inclusion and exclusion that can unfold more or less ‘inclusive’ consequences for historically disadvantaged group members, and more or less exclusionary repercussions for particularly privileged and/or majority group members. We stress the need to say goodbye to a linear narrative of organizations becoming ‘inclusive as such’. Furthermore, we argue that the presence of decent working and employment conditions and the absence of steep differences in those conditions between groups represent the ‘silent foundation’ of creating inclusivity. Consequently, we ask: does inclusion research reach its ‘natural limits’ by tiptoeing around the topic of equality?

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Factors Influencing the Destination Choice of International Visitors to Vietnam

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an attractive tourist destination with diverse and unique experiences, in which Vietnam is considered one of the most famous destinations in this region. Quality evaluations and strategies for attracting international tourists are being thoroughly researched. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had the most significant impact on the tourism industry, which has suffered greatly. Therefore, the recovery and expansion of international tourism necessitate the employment of tourism-related businesses and service sector workers. Extensive research must be conducted to identify solutions and new directions to recover the international tourist market’s growth as quickly as possible. This study identifies the factors that influence the destination of international visitors visiting Vietnam after the COVID-19 pandemic by modifying and evaluating the scales of the theoretical model. Using the convenience sampling technique, data were collected through interviews with 208 international visitors, with 29 observed variables. Using SPSS 22.0, five factors influencing international visitors’ decisions to visit Vietnam were revealed: tourist motivation, tourist attitude, destination image, social media, and environmental quality. Finally, the authors provide policy recommendations to enhance the allure and viability of Vietnam’s tourism following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study’s outcome is intended to establish the importance of the many variables influencing the choice of destination for international visitors.

Mandates Narrow Gender Gaps In Paid Sick Leave Coverage For Low-Wage Workers In The US.

Paid sick leave helps workers recover from illness and manage care obligations and protects public health. Yet access to paid sick leave remains limited and unequal in the United States. Drawing on surveys of 61,223 service-sector workers collected during the period 2017-21 by the Shift Project, we documented limited access to paid sick leave and stark gender inequality, with women less likely than men to have paid sick leave. Part-time employment and gender segregation by industry subsector each explain part, but not all, of the gender disparity. However, in states and localities that mandate paid sick leave for workers, workers are far more likely to report access to this benefit, and the gender gap is eliminated. Guaranteeing paid sick leave to all workers would offer a range of benefits for workers, employers, and public health while also offering the further benefit of reducing gender inequality.

Energy Loss After Daily Role Stress and Work Incivility: Caring for Oneself with Emotional Wellness

The present study seeks to build on burnout research by examining daily fluctuations of role stress and work incivility, and their impact on employees’ energy loss. Optimism and recovery (i.e., psychological detachment and relaxation), two mechanisms that allow workers’ self-care and self-defence from these toxic conditions when faced by these job stressors, were included. In a daily study, 117 service sector workers completed surveys three times a day, over a period of one working week. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed work incivility as predictor of daily emotional exhaustion. Optimism and recovery play different roles in protecting workers from daily energy loss. Daily optimism increased employees’energy and decreased emotional exhaustion and negative affect at night. It also moderated the relationship between work incivility and positive affect at night. The results on psychological detachment supported the stressor-detachment model (Sonnentag, 2010), in which psychological detachment from work during nonworking time is not only a direct predictor of increased energy, but could similarly buffer the negative impact of role stress and work incivility. Relaxation basically showed main effects in predicting emotional exhaustion (inversely) and positive affect (directly). Our findings suggest two main implications: (1) the necessity for implemention of workplace policies to prevent role stress and work incivility in reducing daily loss of energy. (2) Training workers in self-care programmes focusing on optimism and recovery can provide early steps toward organizational change and employee daily well-being.

The Politics of Prevention: Polarization in How Workplace COVID-19 Safety Practices Shaped the Well-Being of Frontline Service Sector Workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshaped the labor market, especially for service sector workers. Frontline service sector workers, already coping with precarious working conditions, faced proximate risks of COVID-19 transmission on the job and navigated new workplace safety measures, including masking, social distancing, and staying home while sick, all in a polarized political environment. We examine polarization in the effects of COVID-19 workplace safety measures on workers’ feelings of safety and well-being. Specifically, we examine how support for former President Trump moderates the relationship between COVID-19 safety practices (masking, social distancing, staying home while sick) and workers’ feelings of safety and well-being. To do so, we draw on novel data collected by The Shift Project from 2,039 service sector workers at 89 large firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that workplace safety measures are positively associated with workers’ self-assessments of feeling safe and with mental health, but only for Biden voters.