Description
Retail is now the largest employer in america. For the most part, retail jobs are “bad jobs” characterized by low wages, unpredictable work schedules, and few opportunities for advancement. Alternatively, labor experts Françoise Carré and Chris Tilly show that these conditions don’t seem to be inevitable. In Where Bad Jobs Are Better, they investigate retail work across different industries and seven countries to demonstrate that better retail jobs don’t seem to be just conceivable, but already exist. By carefully analyzing the factors that lead to more desirable retail jobs, Where Bad Jobs Are Better charts a path to improving job quality for all low-wage jobs.
In surveying retail work across america, Carré and Tilly find that almost all of retail workers receive low pay and nearly half work part-time, which contributes to high turnover and low productivity. Jobs staffed predominantly by women, such as grocery store cashiers, pay even less than retail jobs in male-dominated fields, such as consumer electronics. Yet, when comparing these jobs to similar positions in Western Europe, Carré and Tilly find surprising differences. In France, though supermarket cashiers perform essentially the same work as cashiers in america, they receive higher pay, are mostly full-time, and experience lower turnover and higher productivity. And unlike america, where many retail employees are subject to unpredictable schedules, in Germany, retailers are required by law to provide their employees notice of work schedules six months in advance.
The authors show that disparities in job quality are largely the results of differing social norms and national institutions. For instance, weak labor regulations and the decline of unions in america have enabled retailers to cut labor costs aggressively in ways that depress wages and discourage full-time work. Then again, higher minimum wages, greater government regulation of work schedules, and stronger collective bargaining through unions and works councils have improved the quality of retail jobs in Europe.
As retail and service work continue to expand, American employers and policymakers must make a decision the extent to which these jobs will be good or bad. Where Bad Jobs Are Better shows how stronger rules and regulations can toughen the lives of retail workers and boost the quality of low-wage jobs across the board.
In surveying retail work across america, Carré and Tilly find that almost all of retail workers receive low pay and nearly half work part-time, which contributes to high turnover and low productivity. Jobs staffed predominantly by women, such as grocery store cashiers, pay even less than retail jobs in male-dominated fields, such as consumer electronics. Yet, when comparing these jobs to similar positions in Western Europe, Carré and Tilly find surprising differences. In France, though supermarket cashiers perform essentially the same work as cashiers in america, they receive higher pay, are mostly full-time, and experience lower turnover and higher productivity. And unlike america, where many retail employees are subject to unpredictable schedules, in Germany, retailers are required by law to provide their employees notice of work schedules six months in advance.
The authors show that disparities in job quality are largely the results of differing social norms and national institutions. For instance, weak labor regulations and the decline of unions in america have enabled retailers to cut labor costs aggressively in ways that depress wages and discourage full-time work. Then again, higher minimum wages, greater government regulation of work schedules, and stronger collective bargaining through unions and works councils have improved the quality of retail jobs in Europe.
As retail and service work continue to expand, American employers and policymakers must make a decision the extent to which these jobs will be good or bad. Where Bad Jobs Are Better shows how stronger rules and regulations can toughen the lives of retail workers and boost the quality of low-wage jobs across the board.
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