Young Worker at Work
For this assignment you will conduct an observation of young workers in any New Jersey mall and compare what you see to Besen’s and Tannock’s description of young workers in mall establishments.
Make sure you have read the reading!! These are the readings found in Teenage Workers Part, 1, 2, and 3.
Make a list of what you expect to see at mail retail stores based on the readings. You will turn this list in with your write-up.
Conduct your observation. You are just to observe NOT interview any of the workers or customers. Make sure to collect data on:
The Workers: how many people are working, who is working where, what are the demographics of the workforce (approximate age, gender, race) what are their uniforms/dress like, are they smiling, what do they look like; is there any evidence of emotion work
The Work: does it look like they have fun; what work practices did you observe; does there seem to be socializing/friendships; what is the nature of the work, what is the condition of the store (clean, dirty, etc); did you observe any hiring signs
The Store Atmosphere: what store are you in; what does the store look like; what music is playing; what is the ‘feel’ of the store; what customers does the store cater to; how is that displayed; what product is being sold; what type of customers came in the store (age, gender, race, etc) how do customers behave; how do the customers and workers interact’ are the customers young/old;
Write up your observations and compare them to Besen and Tannock’s description of mall work. In particular compare the demographics of the workers (gender, race); presentation of workers”, the role of consumption and the amount of “socializing” that goes on. Did you see what you expected to see based on the readings? What didn’t you see, or what did you see that surprised you? Did your mall stores seem like the model one for teens? Why or Why not?
Upload a file that includes a write-up of your findings.
Important note on this assignment
Please take some creative liberties in completing this assignment. You might consider an online gathering, or perhaps what you remember from memory about malls or stores, or maybe something else altogether that is related to the topic this week and fits within the rubric elements (I am trying to be as flexible as possible on this one).
Young Worker at Work
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Young Worker at Work
Expectation List
Establishments in each store at the mall may differ based on their in-house rules. These rules depend on the type of business and target consumers the businesses within the mall target. The following are general ideas of what I expect to observe at the mall. These expectations are inspired by the readings in Teenage Workers, parts 1, 2 and 3.
* There are more white employees compared to other races
* There are more female employees than males in fashion stores, while electronic stores have more male employees
* Female employees are the front store sellers, while male employees work in stores packaging and unpackaging items.
* Employees multitask, handling more than one role in the store
* Employees dress in branded clothes depending on what they sell and their sponsors
* Employees know are friendly to the customers, regardless of the reciprocation treatment they get
* Employees approach clients and convince them to buy from their store
* Employees group and share stories or are glued to their mobile phones when the store is not busy
* Judging from their facial expressions, the employees work long hours
Young Worker at Work