Service interaction and dignity in cleaning work: how important is the organizational context?

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:363333 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which the nature of a particular work activity -cleaning -changes across organizational contexts, considering specific industry characteristics and working conditions in urban settings in Portugal.Design/methodology/approach -The paper draws on the qualitative analysis of data collected between 2010and 2013 using open-ended interviews with employees and direct observation in two shopping malls. Findings -The empirical evidence illuminates how the contexts under study shape the behavior of actors and their power relations. By placing the perspective of employees at the core of the analysis, the paper demonstrates that workplaces provide a major site of conflict and negotiation regarding dignity in cleaning work, but this dispute takes on different contours and sources of tension across organizational contexts. Originality/value -The seminal comparative analysis of commercial cleaning and housecleaning undertaken in this paper sheds light on the varying distribution of roles and authority at work. Differently than in earlier studies, the actual modes of service interaction in this industry are documented in a detailed and critical manner.

Identity work at the intersection of dirty work, caste, and precarity: How Indian cleaners negotiate stigma

“…hotel, building, mall, hospital) and private (households) spheres, respectively. Though approached as distinct subjects of enquiry due to the varying contexts (Cruz and Abrantes, 2014), both forms are perceived as low status, low skilled, and stigmatized (Abbasian and Hellgren, 2012; Zulfiqar and Prasad, 2021). Cleaning work is physically tainted as it involves direct contact with dirt (Hughes et al, 2017), which is seen as polluting based on the subjective social and cultural standards of cleanliness and purity (Douglas, 1966; Zulfiqar, 2019).…”

“…Though the nature of tasks involved in cleaning remains the same, in a bid to professionalize the work, outsourcing has pushed task fragmentation and technology-enabled standardization. Such restructuring has resulted in the degradation of work and workers’ dignity (Cruz and Abrantes, 2014; Gill-McLure and Seifert, 2008). Cleaners have been rendered voiceless due to declining collective action pushed by the neoliberal agenda (Aguiar and Herod, 2006; Soni-Sinha and Yates, 2013).…”