Supermarket Cashiers Research Articles

Understanding Musculoskeletal Loadings among Supermarket Checkout Counter Cashiers: A Biomechanical Analysis

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are highly prevalent among supermarket cashiers. These disorders are frequently related to the adoption of awkward postures and manual materials handling. This study aimed to analyze musculoskeletal loadings in supermarket cashiers, considering the handling of different products and different checkout conditions. To accomplish this, we employed an inertial motion capture system to measure full-body kinematics while simulating 19 cashier tasks. The study included five female cashiers from a supermarket in Northern Portugal, ranging in age from 19 to 61 years old. Using joint angles, material load, and muscle function as input parameters, we conducted the musculoskeletal loadings assessment using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) methods. Results showed that RULA scores were higher for the microtasks that involved product scanning. Regarding microstasks analyzed by REBA, the replacement of paper rolls for the receipt machine at the checkout counter yields the highest scores. Based on these findings, there is a compelling need to redesign supermarket checkout workstations to alleviate the physical demands placed on cashiers and to ensure organizational sustainability.

Trabalhadoras essenciais abandonadas: psicodinâmica do trabalho e saúde mental de caixas de supermercado durante a pandemia de covid-19

Abstract Introduction supermarket cashiers were considered essential and worked during the COVID-19 quarantine, but were not prioritized for the vaccine despite extreme exposure. Objective to investigate the subjective experiences of cashiers during the covid-19 pandemic. Methods descriptive, exploratory study with a qualitative approach. The subjects were cashiers of both sexes, from June to October 2021. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online to explore subjective aspects of the work. The recruitment took place in a Facebook group of the category. The comprehensive thematic analysis was based on the psychodynamics of work. Results supermarket cashier work is precarious. The pandemic caused fatigue, emotional exhaustion, sadness. Exposure to the public caused a perception of risk contamination, fear, intensification of preexisting tensions with customers and managers. The categorization of “essencial work” associated with not prioritizing vaccination mobilized anger, feelings of injustice, devaluation and helplessness. The lack of recognition accentuates suffering, leads to subjective demobilization, undermines identity and deteriorates mental health. Conclusions it is necessary to give the word, in a therapeutic context and in the collective public space, to people who work in supermarket cashier operations, enabling the politicization of the discourse.

Essential workers left behind: psychodynamics of work and mental health of supermarket cashiers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Resumo Introdução: pessoas operadoras de caixas de supermercado foram consideradas trabalhadores essenciais durante a pandemia de covid-19, mas não foram prioritárias para a vacina, apesar da extrema exposição. Objetivo investigar as vivências subjetivas das pessoas que operaram caixas e que trabalharam durante a pandemia de covid-19. Métodos estudo descritivo, exploratório, de abordagem qualitativa. Entrevistas semiestruturadas foram realizadas on-line com operadores de caixa de ambos os sexos, de junho a outubro de 2021. O recrutamento ocorreu em um grupo do Facebook da categoria. A análise temática compreensiva fundamentou-se na psicodinâmica do trabalho. Resultados o trabalho de operação de caixa de supermercado é precário. A pandemia provocou cansaço, exaustão emocional, tristeza. A exposição ao público causou percepção do risco de contaminação, medo, intensificação das tensões preexistentes com clientes e gestores. A categorização “trabalho essencial” associada a não priorização na vacinação mobilizou raiva, sentimento de injustiça, desvalorização e desamparo. A falta de reconhecimento acentua o sofrimento, leva à desmobilização subjetiva, abala a identidade e deteriora a saúde mental. Conclusão evidenciou-se a necessidade de dar a palavra, em contexto terapêutico e no espaço público coletivo, viabilizando a politização do discurso.

We Need to Talk about Class

Abstract Class differences have historically received limited attention in museum theory and practice, and scholarly publications on issues of class and heritage are still scarce. COVID-19 has shone a particularly harsh light on class divisions. At the height of the pandemic, working-class laborers (such as supermarket cashiers, social care workers, truck and delivery drivers) were asked to shoulder high levels of health risks, exposing entrenched socioeconomic inequities. In this article, we build upon a small-scale research and collecting project, Inequalities, Class, and the Pandemic, carried out in 2021 by the London Museum (formerly known as the Museum of London) and King's College London, to discuss how museums can meaningfully engage with working-class lived experiences in our contemporary neo-liberal societies. We begin by analyzing whether and how museums have addressed working-class issues and (hi)stories. We then draw on the voices and experiences of our research participants to examine the ongoing structural inequalities experienced by working-class Londoners. Building on our empirical research, we argue for museums to play an active role in reclaiming the centrality of class in public culture, particularly addressing the contemporary lived experiences of working-class people.

Legal Protection Against Consumers Experiencing Price Differences Between Labels Prices and Self-Service Cashiers in the District Sleman

The number of cases of price difference between the price tag and the self-service cashier, especially in Banyuwangi Regency, of course, is proof that the consumer's right to obtain goods at the promised exchange rate is in accordance with Article 4 Paragraph 2 Constitution Protection Consumer has violated. Based on the problems above, the author formulates problems related to how the form of accountability from supermarkets in problem difference price between label price And machine cashier Which experienced by consumers? The results of the study concluded that the implementation of legal protection for consumers who suffered losses due to cases of price differences between price tags and supermarket cashiers in the district Sleman fall into the criminal element.

Automation Enables Specialization: Field Evidence

Becker and Murphy proposed that task specialization raises productivity but is limited by the costs of coordinating workers. We propose that automation enables workers to specialize without coordination costs. To the extent that the cost of effort exhibits increasing differences, workers increase effort in nonautomated tasks and productivity. The proposition is supported by a field experiment among supermarket cashiers. Conventionally, supermarket cashiers perform two tasks: scanning purchases and collecting payment. Cashiers exhibited increasing differences in the cost of effort: when they scanned faster, they took longer to collect payments. We rotated cashiers between the conventional job design and one in which they specialized in scanning. The new job design increased cashier productivity in scanning by more than 10%. The faster scanning was not due to customer sorting or cashier learning. The proposition is also validated by a survey of taxi drivers. Drivers who reported that difficulties in finding their way affected their driving were more likely to use map apps. This paper was accepted by Alfonso Gambardella, business strategy. Funding: This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education [MOE2016-SSRTG-059]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4760 .

Self-reported neck and back pain among supermarket cashiers in Gaborone, Botswana

Objective . This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors and impacts of neck and back pain among supermarket cashiers in Botswana. Results. A total of 174 supermarket cashiers participated in this study, the majority of whom were females (72%). The prevalence of lower back pain was 69%, upper back pain 53% and neck pain 37%. Increasing age was associated with neck (95% confidence interval [CI] [1.43, 5.15]) and upper back (95% CI [1.43, 3.60]) pain. Cashiers working at a low work surface and overreaching for items were 19 and 11 times more likely to report neck (95% CI [1.7, 255.9]) and lower back (95% CI [1.84, 62.1]) pain, respectively. Almost 6% of cashiers who reported lower back pain reported considering changing jobs due to pain. Conclusions. More than two-thirds, one-half and about two-fifths of supermarket cashiers reported lower back, upper back and neck pain, respectively. Individual and work-related factors were associated with neck and/or back pain. To reduce their prevalence and progression, supermarkets should introduce occupational health and safety talks.

Unemployment Insurance as a Worker Indiscipline Device? Evidence from Scanner Data

We provide causal evidence of an ex ante moral hazard effect of unemployment insurance (UI ) by matching plausibly exogenous changes in UI benefit duration across state-weeks during the Great Recession to high-frequency productivity measures from individual supermarket cashiers. Estimating models with date and cashier-register fixed effects, we identify a modest but statistically significant negative relationship between UI benefits and worker productivity. This effect is strongest for more experienced and less productive cashiers, for whom UI expansions are especially relevant. Additional analyses from the American Time Use Survey reveal a similar increase in shirking during periods with increased UI benefit durations. (JEL D82, E32, J22, J24, J65, L81)

Level of disability and associated factors with musculoskeletal disorders among supermarket cashiers.

This study aimed to determine the severity of symptoms and the level of disability or difficulty associated with MSDs in the neck, shoulders, upper limbs, lower back, and lower limbs as well as the factors associated with MSDs. This investigation collected demographic, health (36-Item Short Form Survey [SF-36]), and occupational related-factors for supermarket cashiers through the administration of several questionnaires, including the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain. One hundred ninety-three supermarket cashiers participated in this study. The mean scores for disability levels included NDI (M±SD 18.62±14.57), ODI (M±SD 20.74±13.89), DASH (M±SD 15.08±13.90), and LEFS (M±SD 63.06±14.24). Regression analyses demonstrated the existence of significant relationships between the experience of MSDs and several other factors, including the number of working days per week, the preferred working position, marital status and the need for awkward positions. The results indicate MSDs that signified a mild disability level among young participants. The number of working days per week, the preferred working position, the need to assume awkward positions, and marital status were significantly associated with MSDs. The findings indicated the need for preventive to avoid or minimize the prevalence of MSDs among supermarket cashiers. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2022;35(4):407-23.

Cost of Cash: Evidence from Cashiers

An important but overlooked cost of payments in retailing is the cost on checkout cashiers. This paper examines the compensating wage differential that cashiers require to handle payments in cash. First, a multicountry panel data study shows that cashier wages increase with retail cash usage, which is consistent with cashiers requiring compensation to handle cash. Second, in a discrete choice experiment where supermarket cashiers chose between collecting card and cash payments, eight of 10 cashiers preferred card to cash. Among those who preferred card, the median cashier required a wage premium of S$37.50 (US$27) a month to handle cash. The premium was lower among cashiers who are local, less risk averse, and younger. Third, in a laboratory study, subjects traded off earnings against stress. With higher frequency of cash payments, high earners experienced greater physiological stress than low earners. Earnings also increased with abilities in arithmetic and coping with stress. Collectively, these studies show that cashiers require higher wages to handle cash payments, in part due to higher stress. We offer policy, managerial, and research implications for job design, payment systems, and workplace stress.

Literature Review of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Their Risk Factors Among Supermarket Cashiers

Background: People working as supermarket cashier are at a risk of suffering musculoskeletal disorders. Those cashiers experienced occupational diseases as a result of working in a forced position, such as sitting for long periods of time. Moreover, a high prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders has been reported among them. Objective: This literature review aims to describe previous studies and its findings among the supermarket cashiers to explore and discover the prevalence of MSDs among them and to understand other aspects related to the role of a supermarket cashier. Methods: Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases were searched to explore MSDs among supermarket cashiers. Results and conclusion: The prevalence of symptoms varies among different body regions such as the spine, upper limbs, and lower limbs. However, the spinal and upper limb regions are more susceptible to have such disorders. Moreover, some of these symptoms may develop or exaggerate due to psychosocial factors. The supermarket cashier job has several risk factors that may be related to ergonomic workstations, a person’s characteristics, and some related to the nature of work, which involves repetitive movements. Finally, future studies on supermarket cashiers should recruit more males than females, because previous studies focused on females only.

Impactos de uma pandemia na saúde mental: analisando o efeito causado pelo COVID-19

Objetivo: Investigar as implicações na saúde mental em decorrência de surtos e de pandemias, com enfoque na COVID-19. Revisão bibliográfica: A presença atual da COVID-19, em adição de outras pandemias/epidemias anteriores ou outros eventos de acometimento global, é uma importante causa de impactos negativos para a saúde mental da população, desencadeando ou agravando sintomas de ansiedade, depressão, estresse, medo, e até alguns transtornos, como transtorno de estresse pós traumático (TEPT), entre outros. Estes sintomas são frequentemente relatados por trabalhadores de serviços essenciais - profissionais da área da saúde, porteiros, caixas de supermercado etc - indivíduos acometidos pela doença e seus familiares. Além disso, a instituição de medidas de isolamento como forma de prevenção às doenças em tempos de pandemia impacta diretamente na saúde mental da população como um todo. Pouco tem sido relatado, contudo, sobre o assunto. Considerações finais: A literatura é clara no que se refere aos impactos na saúde mental de toda a população durante uma pandemia, sendo capaz de repercutir na qualidade de vida tanto individualmente quanto coletivamente.

Self-Reported Musculoskeletal Disorders and Quality of Life in Supermarket Cashiers.

Supermarket cashiers face a significant amount of stress, including time constraints, mental pressure, and physical demands that require repetitive movements. The job description of a supermarket cashier involves work-related risk factors that may lead to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms. This study aimed to investigate supermarket cashiers to determine the prevalence of MSD symptoms and their quality of life. Data were collected from a convenience sample of supermarket cashiers working in Saudi Arabia. Information included direct questions on pain in the previous 12 months, demographic data, and health- or occupation-related factors. Moreover, data was collected based on the 36-item short form survey (SF-36), and descriptive statistics were computed. A total of 193 supermarket cashiers participated in this study. The sample included 140 men (72.5%) and 53 women (27.5%), with a mean age of 27.2 ± 6.4 years. The majority of the participants (90%) had MSD symptoms in at least one body region, with the neck (66.84%) and lower back (65.80%) constituting the most prominent regions. The mean SF-36 scores were higher in participants without pain compared to participants with pain in all domains, except for the physical functioning domain. The high prevalence of MSD symptoms among young cashiers suggest the need for additional investigations to determine the risk factors of these disorders. Additionally, this study recommends preventive procedures to reduce the prevalence of MSD symptoms among cashiers.

Emotional Labour and Work-Family Conflict in Voice-to-Voice and Face-to-Face Customer Relations: A Multi-Group Study in Service Workers.

Professions that involve interaction with customers entail great emotional effort: workers are required to show emotions different from their true feeling and they experienced emotional dissonance and verbal aggression from customers. These job demands can generate discomfort and the effects of emotional labour can “expand” in other life domains. The study investigated the relationship among emotional dissonance, customer verbal aggression, affective discomfort at work and work-family conflict, considering differences between two groups of service workers: call centre agents (CA; N = 507, voice-to-voice relation with customers) and supermarket cashiers (SC; N = 444, face-to-face relation with customers). Results showed that emotional dissonance and customer verbal aggression had a positive relationship with work-family conflict, the mediational role of affective discomfort emerged in both groups; different effects of job demands in subsamples appeared. Suggestions for organisations and work processes emerged in order to identify practical implications useful to support employees in coping with emotional labour and to promote well-being and work-family balance.

Balcones para el aplauso

La crisis de COVID19, ha resignificado la forma de vida producción y las metodologías de trabajo.: sin embargo, durante este periodo la actitud positiva de la ciudadanía ha aportado significativamente a superar la primera parte de la crisis, apoyando la árdua labor de los agricultores, limpiadores, transportistas, conductores de autobús y metro, reponedores, cajeros de supermercado, policías, sanitarios, y personal de la salud, quienes han formado una una primera línea de lucha para contener el virus y a esto se suma la disciplina de la ciudadanía confinada quienes han agredgado a sus rutinas para demostrar apoyo a la valiente entrega de quienes han permitido mantener la cotideaneidad en nuestras vidas.El desarrollo de las actividades en el periodo de la crisis de COVID19, ha resignificado la forma de habitar los espacios; evidentemente el adaptarse a las nuevas circunstancias es un reto, ya que se reconceptualiza la idea de público y privado.

Automation, Job Design, and Productivity: Field Evidence

In jobs where the cost of effort exhibits increasing differences in separate tasks, automation increases productivity by directly eliminating the automated tasks and indirectly by reducing the marginal cost of non-automated tasks. Here, I report a field experiment rotating supermarket cashiers between conventional (where they scanned and collected payment) and scan-only checkouts. Consistent with increasing differences in separate tasks, at conventional checkouts, cashiers who scanned faster collected payments more slowly. At scan-only checkouts, cashiers scanned 10 percent faster, consistent with lower marginal cost of effort in the non-automated task. The faster scanning was not due to learning, less task-switching, or differential shirking.

Automation, Worker Welfare, and Productivity: Field Evidence

Automation may affect job quality and labor supply, but these effects are not well appreciated. Conventionally, supermarket cashiers scan and collect payment. Collecting payment is cognitively demanding and risky. A semi-automated job design relieved cashiers of collecting payment and focused them on scanning. Empirically, the median cashier preferred the new design by 4.1 percent of monthly wages, and the job design increased local cashier labor supply by about 1 percent. These results support the proposition that automation which substitutes machines for humans in disliked tasks enables the redesign of jobs to raise job quality and increase labor supply.

Cardiovascular risk and quality of life in supermarket cashiers: The role of physical activity.

Occupations might influence the employees' psychophysical conditions and an important issue is the human activity mechanization, which favors a hypokinetic work status and leads to several chronic diseases. One of the most hypokinetic occupations is the supermarket cashier, in which the individual may spend many hours a day in the same body position. The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between cardiovascular risk, quality of life and physical activity level in supermarket cashiers. This is a cross-sectional study which included 200 supermarket cashiers aged 20 to 41 years from São Paulo, Brazil. The following cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated: overweight, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and tobacco smoking. Physical activity level and quality of life were assessed with the short-form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAq) and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL), respectively. Student t test and Chi-square were carried out to evaluate mean gender comparations and frequency, respectively. Logistic regression models were applied to determine the association between cardiovascular risk factors and physical activity level. The prevalence for all cardiovascular risk factors was significantly high in the cashiers with a low physical activity level. However, there was a significant reduction in several risk factors in the groups with moderate and high physical activity levels. The odds ratio values were significantly reduced for the association between the cardiovascular risk factors and the moderate and high physical activity levels. The cashiers with moderate and high physical activity levels showed significantly higher quality of life scores for the social and environmental domain. A high physical activity level is positively related to quality of life in supermarket cashiers.

Stress and Compensation: Evidence from Cashiers

An important but overlooked cost of payments in retailing is the cost on checkout cashiers. This paper examines the compensating wage differential that cashiers require to handle payments in cash. First, a multi-country panel data study shows that cashier wages increase with retail cash usage, consistent with cashiers requiring compensation to handle cash. Second, in a discrete choice experiment where supermarket cashiers chose between collecting card and cash payments, 8 of 10 cashiers preferred card to cash. Among those who preferred card, the median cashier required a wage premium of S$37.50 (US$27) a month to handle cash. The premium was lower among cashiers who are local, less risk averse, and younger. Third, in a laboratory study, subjects traded off earnings against stress. With higher frequency of cash payments, high-earners experienced greater physiological stress than low-earners. Earnings also increased with abilities in arithmetic and coping with stress. Collectively, these studies show that cashiers require higher wages to handle cash payments, in part due to higher stress. We offer policy, managerial, and research implications for job design, payment systems, and workplace stress.

Musculoskeletal disorders, psychological distress, and work error of supermarket cashiers

AbstractBackgroundHuman physiological and psychological states may influence work performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships among the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), psychological distress, and work error of supermarket cashiers. There were 443 Chinese supermarket cashiers surveyed in this study. Among these cashiers, 431 valid samples were obtained. The study surveyed the MSDs, psychological distress of supermarket cashiers with MSDs Likert scale and Symptom Checklist‐90 (SCL‐90) scale, respectively. The data of work error of each cashier was provided by the supermarkets managers. The increasing working years of Chinese supermarket cashiers were connected with increased MSDs. Significant differences were observed in MSDs and work error of cashiers from different supermarkets (different in checkout design). The physiological health and psychological distress of supermarket cashiers are important to work performance and require serious attention. Good checkout counter design with flat conveyor is helpful to reduce cashiers’ MSDs and work error.