Consuming Work: Youth Labor in America by Y. Besen-Cassino

Abstract

Meet Josh, a typical American college kid, who, on a bitter winter day, skips classes and instead drives hours through the snow to work at the Coffee Bean (think Starbucks) location where he feels he is "needed." No one notices when he skips class, and the university will get along without him anyway. Josh is a lot like the majority of other youth workers in the United States: from an affluent background; White; will likely graduate from college. Josh does not have to pick up a shift that conflicts with classes because Josh does not exactly need to work. The job puts cash in his pockets, but more importantly, the job affords Josh an identity, a brand, and social opportunities that school does not, opportunities that scholars of youth labor in the United States have tended to overlook.Consuming is a verb in the title of Yasemin Besen-Cassino's new book, Consuming Work: Youth Labor in America, not an adjective. Work can consume a person, as the subtitle Youth Labor might "evoke images of unventilated sweatshops in the developing world . . . " (p. 2). But this book takes place in the suburbs of the contemporary United States, reflecting its many social and spatial advantages, as well as the many chain stores and restaurants that characterize Average America and provide youth with employment chances. In this context, the workplace functions in ways that other social institutions such as schools fail. Writes Besen-Cassino, "This book studies the consumption of work and branded work experiences as markers of identity among youth . . . and a social space to see friends" (pp. 16-17).Among the many strengths of the book is its challenge to existing conceptions of low-skill service employment, recasting what Ritzer called

All Fun and Cool Clothes? Youth Workers’ Consumer Identity in Clothing Retail

“…Given the prominence of retail jobs, understanding how this work is organized and how youth workers experience their jobs is important. We seek to contribute to the growing body of research on the service sector that conceptualizes labor process to highlight the particular practices in the organization and the experience of service sector employment (Braverman, 1998; Erickson & Wharton, 1997; Gutek, Cherry, Bhappu, Schneider, & Woolf, 2000; Korczynski, 2007; Leidner, 1993; Lopez, 2006, 2010; Macdonald & Sirianni, 1996; Sallaz, 2002, 2010, 2015; Sloan, 2004, 2012; Troyer, Mueller, & Osinsky, 2000).…”

“…The nexus of work and consumer identity is particularly visible in how employers hire workers who possess requisite customer service skills through fit with the store brand. The hiring process may focus on assessing applicants’ consumer identities and abilities to communicate insights about the brand (Besen-Cassino, 2014; Carré et al., 2009; Gatta, 2011; Nickson, Hurrell, Warhurst, & Commander, 2011; Nickson et al., 2012; Shaw, 2015; Warhurst et al., 2000; Warhurst & Nickson, 2007; Williams & Connell, 2010; Williams, 2011). As employers judge workers on their appearance, speech, and self-presentation (Besen-Cassino, 2014; Nickson et al., 2012; Nickson, Warhurst, & Dutton, 2005; Warhurst & Nickson, 2007), “middle classness is being recast as a skill” in certain brand-based markets (Nickson et al., 2011, p. 84).…”

Retail therapy: Making meaning out of menial labour

“…Rather, the reviewer asserts that they are 'soft', not tough enough, and naïve regarding the grim realities of minimum wage retail work because they have not worked throughout high school. In general, younger workers are perceived as expecting high and sustained levels of excitement at work, pleasant relationships with co-workers, opportunities for advancement, and management that is flexible and receptive to their own innovative ideas (James et al, 2011;Kim et al, 2009;Lichtenstein, 2009;Misra and Walters, 2016;Shaw, 2015), qualities that are not easily attainable in entry-level retail work.…”