Retail Work (Paperback)

Why retail work demands a closer look.- PART I: WORK AND SKILLS.- Following the retail chain: sandwiches, supermarkets and the potential for workplace learning.- In the blink of an eye ? American high end small retail businesses and the public workforce system.- Labour supply and skills demand in fashion retailing.- Technological change, work reorganization and retail workers' skills in production-oriented supermarket departments.- PART II: RETAIL AS A JOB VERSUS RETAILING AS A CAREER.- 'It's all right for Saturdays but not forever' The employment of part-time student staff within the retail sector.- The 'lost boys'.- Avoiding the trap: temporary identity as a means of coping with low-wage, part time jobs.- PART III: THE PRESSURES OF RETAIL WORK.- Employers' 'exit options' and low wage retail work: the case of supermarkets in the Netherlands and Germany.- 'No place to hide'? the realities of leadership in UK supermarkets.- In search of teamworking in a major supermarket.- PART IV: NEGOTIATING 'GOOD WORK' IN RETAIL.- Humour in Retail Work: Jokes Salespeople Tell about Their Clients.- Incentive for co-worker commitment.- Union strategies in representing 'new workers': The case of Australian and UK retail unions.- Endnote: thoughts and reflections Chris Tilly and Francoise Carre.