The Needs and Desires of Tasmin and Southland Retail Workers

Java Grant

2337 words

Positionality statement

Lack of social mobility, and conditions of alienation amongst retail workers, is a highlight of my personal concern for their long-term wellbeing. Personal experience working retail informs my application of alienation to retail work. The hierarchies operating in retail obfuscate surplus-value capture, pits workers against one another, and alienates workers from one another, the process of the labour, the products of the labour, and oneself (Marx, 1988).

As a researcher, my positionality includes my experience working low-wage, large-chain retail and hospitality between the ages of 16-20 in the small town of Kerikeri, and for a short time in Auckland. The intellectual world I have since experienced, empowered my social mobility, resource access, and class consciousness. Few educational resources on such subjects are promoted in Kerikeri. My social mobility places me in the class of ‘indigenous-outsider’ within James A. Banks’ topology of cross-cultural researchers (1998). However, my values as an outsider do not conflict with those of the working class as an ‘indigenous-outsider’s’ might, as implied by Banks.

This project considers Tasmin and Southland retail workers as being at higher risk of exploitation, as the average age of retail workers in this region is higher than other regions – assuming this reflects lower social mobility for retail workers in this area. My comparative access to social mobility may reflect inequities and power relations that could manifest in the research. Additionally, potential power imbalances exist due to my position as a researcher. As a precaution, this research will be reflexive and collaborative in nature, acting as a tool for workers, not a measurement of them.

I wish to explore the working circumstances of vulnerable retail workers in order to create usable knowledge for outcomes such as union organisation. The use of community-based participatory research will enforce generated knowledge to be evolved in collaborative processes for the benefit of the population, which is important due to their possible status as vulnerable/excessively exploited.

Human community

Higher proportions of the female population in all regions work in retail than men [Figure 1] (NZ Stat, 2020). Typically New Zealand women have higher union density than New Zealand men (Center for Labour, Employment and Work, Victoria University, 2019). Additionally, these regions have a larger gap between the proportion of women who work in retail and the proportion of men [Figure 1]. This research might find a significant relationship between gender and unionisation sentiment for these reasons.

Figure 1: Proportion of Population Working in Retail.

Union outreach is most efficient in high-population-density areas of New Zealand [Figure 2], decreasing outreach operability for unions in low-population-dense areas. However, Southland and Tasman regions have a higher proportion of retail workers at ages that suggest they are significantly through their working careers [Figure 3]. In these regions, it seems that retail is a longer-term career choice and therefore, it is important that workers are ensured fair compensation for their labour, often achieved through union representation.

Figure 2: Working Population.

Figure 3: Percentage of Retail Workers Aged 15-29 [Area Outside Classified].

I wish to discover limiting factors of class-based organisation. The density of unionisation has been decreasing significantly in New Zealand compared to other Anglo-Saxon nations (O’Sullivan et al., 2019). At the same time, prevalence of precarious working conditions, such as ‘Zero-Hour Contracts’, increased, creating advantageous negotiating positions for employers. Particularly affected by these precarious working conditions are workers in fast-food, supermarket, and hospitality positions (MBIE, 2015). Personal experience informs my understanding of these positions as minimum, or near-minimum wage while living costs have increased exponentially – specifically in housing [Figure 4].

Figure 4: Increasing House Prices in Tasman Region New Zealand (OPES Partners 2021).

Literature review of key topic/issue being explored

Contemporary research on working-class New Zealanders includes research by Michelle O'Sullivan (2019), precarity under zero-hour contracts and how zero-hour contracts undermine the classification of ‘casual worker’; research by Tanya Milly Ewertowska (2020), the removal of student workers’ agency and poorer conditions; and research by Dayna Erin East (2020), feminist perspectives on ‘workfare’ policy in New Zealand.

These texts focus on precarious working conditions as well as, transitioning part-time and zero-hour employees to full-time work, as the solution to employment precarity, however, there are a range of forms and influences on job pacarity, many of which stem from workers’ financial and personal circumstances, rather than solely on access to working hours.

Comprehensive coverage of union–workplace–government–employee relationships in New Zealand is included within a doctoral thesis by Majoreen Osafroadu Amankwah (2019): ‘Job Quality: The Perceptions and Strategies of New Zealand Workers’. Covering strategies used by workers looking to improve their working experience in low-wage employment, Amankwah explores existing literature on evaluating ‘job quality’ and establishing quantitative and qualitative measures. However, in doing so, it assumes worker’s perspectives about what value is needed from employment, such as ‘opportunities for progression’ – which likely is not the focus for high-school students working after school, or people looking for short term employment. As the text outlines, learning skills, being satisfied, and having agency at work are all valuable aspects of employment, however, these are often circumstantial and vary between sectors and jobs. Amankwah provides understanding of the New Zealand work environment and considerations for how to research workers, however, it is framed around workers who are already attempting to progress out of precarious work, a responsive approach to subpar working conditions. This research will explore what outcomes retail workers desire and how to implement solutions.

‘Textile Workers and Union Sentiment’, by Joseph A. McDonald and Donald A. Clelland (1984), explores high levels of positive union sentiment in the United States south, and the influence of the independent variables; years in mill, gender, mill size, type of ownership, skill level, and age on the dependent variables; deference, activism, and union sentiment. The model outlined [Figure 5] breaks down the influence of each variable independently and collectively. From this article’s research, influential variables can be repurposed for our exploration of union sentiment in another context; the Southland and Tasman regions of New Zealand. Variables we may wish to measure include, gender, size of organisation, type of business ownership, qualifications, and age. The article concludes that the influence of paternalism in the southern textile industries is primarily due to the peripheral nature of the industry, as a support for larger, more profitable industries of the time. Unlike McDonald and Clelland’s case study, this research analyses perspectives of New Zealand retail workers, a non-peripheral industry in its context. We might form new insights from the alternative context of this data.

Figure 5: Model of Worker Union Sentiment. (McDonald & Clelland, 1984)

Methodological approaches

The recruitment process will be convenience-based, exploring the townships within the regions and entering retail establishments and proposing one-on-one interviews about working. This format prevents influences from coworker presence but might be less appealing for people lacking confidence in telling their experiences – therefore the invite to bring a support person will be available. There is bias toward workers of more hours in retail, as they are the ones most likely to be in-store at time of recruitment.

As community based participatory research (CBPR), this project will establish equitable partnerships between members of a community with a shared identity, representatives of organizations that work with the community, and academic researchers in order to optimise outcomes for retail workers (Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998). Due to its position as CBPR, comprehensive planning of organisations and individuals to engage in the research cannot be predetermined, as the community has not yet been engaged with the project and have been unable to provide collaborative guidance. It is likely that families, unions, and coworkers' perspectives are included in this research, and possible that employers, Work and Income, community leaders, and rangatira have relevant contributions also.

Outlined in Decolonizing Methodologies, by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2012), are twenty-five key methodologies to indigenous research practise. From these twenty-five, my research will utilise testimony and storytelling in the co-creation of knowledge. The purpose of these specific techniques is to de-center myself as the researcher and to platform the experiences and perspectives of the participants. Testimony creates a safe environment to share, and the entwining of complex emotive experience into record. Storytelling allows agency in contribution and direction from the subjects towards new areas of knowledge, emphasizing the co-creation of knowledge with participants. This project will employ these techniques, to learn from the experiential experts of these issues (Jones, 2012).

Proposed research method/instrument

As CBPR, this project will empower participants in the process and outcomes of research, achieved through all stages of Gerard Egan’s Skilled Helper Model (2013; Tisdell, 2008). Used in counselling, the Skilled Helper Model engages a three stage process:

1. Current Picture: What’s going on?
2. Preferred Picture: What do I need or want?
3. The Way Forward

This model prompts goal setting and pathway planning, and when applied can guide the process of researching, planning, and implementing praxis. Integrated with Karl Marx’s (1988) analysis of the modes of production and forms of alienation, we can create interview plans which apply academic theory to understanding worker’s experience, which can in turn guide applicable theory into praxis.

During the first stage, researchers and participants establish mutual understandings of relevant topics, such as work, value, needs, wants, and power, which will be achieved through ‘dialogue-focused interactions’, composed of turn taking, connecting, mutual influencing, and co-creating outcomes (Egan, 2013). This process can mitigate ‘othering’ of participants, establishing common understandings through experience and communication. Beneficial for the accuracy of the communication, sharing values, and commonalities, the process also supports relationships and decreases power imbalance (Tisdell, 2008).

During the second stage, Problem-Managing Possibilities, Goals & Outcomes, and Commitment, from The Skilled Helper, by Egan (2013), are explored. Led by the interview guide, questions are developed upon learnt factors – such as desires and needs – and composed with categorical questions about goal setting, restrictions, and opportunity.

Firstly, questions of hope are introduced: “What are some of the things I think I want?”, “What about my needs?” (Egan, 2013, p. 283). These open-ended questions help understand the desires of the interviewee.

Discussion of solutions is then introduced and options are explored to create a variety of potential outcomes. Relevant questions include: “What do I really want and need?”, “What outcomes will manage my problem situation?” (Egan, 2013, p. 283).

Finally, evaluation of opportunities selects viable changes towards goals: “What am I willing to pay [or forgo] for what I want?” (Egan, 2013, p. 283).

In the third stage, the co-created knowledge can inform solutions grounded in theory, for example the introduction of class consciousness can be offered introducing participants to academic concepts and co-create practical implementations.

Semi-structured Interview Guide

Interviewer Instructions

• Suggest locations that participants are comfortable sharing discussions of work in: local cafes, home, community centres, et cetera.
• Ensure confidentiality of all provided information and inform participants of final dates to withdraw.

• Confirm notes correctly reflect the participant's perspective.
• This guide is not prescriptive of required questioning, but of broad topics of interest. Directions taken by participants can vary away from this guide usefully.

Establish Demographic Information

Rationale

Broad, generally applicable variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, et cetera have high quality of life impact and influence on career outcomes. They help develop the context of data and determine the influence of external variables.

Alienation & Agency

Rationale

These questions address forms of alienation as discussed by Marx (1988). The inclusion of business values is a question of agency, which reflects alienation from the mode of production. Some portions of these prompts have been adapted from ‘Measurement of alienation among adolescents: construct validity of three scales on powerlessness’, by Signe Boe Rayce, et al. (2018).

Working Environment

Rationale

Variables explored in Textile Workers and Union Sentiment (McDonald, & Clelland, 1984) can be found here, including ownership structures and business size. Forms of compensation are included, as retail has various pay structures between businesses, which may affect sentiment.

“How Might Your Preferences be Achieved?”

As part of creating CBPR, community perspectives on how praxis might be achieved is critical to making useful research. Options such as unionisation, education, requests for promotion, or supporting small businesses might be proposed by the interviewer, but critical exploration of these and other ideas must occur collaboratively. The broader question of how one might achieve their preferences can be addressed by the instructor on a case-by-case basis.

Goals and limitations

In their article ‘The Stressors Faced by Retail Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic’, Nada Elnahla and Leighann C. Neilson (2021), explain how their “research aims to shed light on and advance our understanding of how frontline retail workers in North America are coping with the pandemic, identifying some of the major stressors they face as a first step towards alleviating those stressors” (p. 1). Co-opting this understanding, this research is capable of exploring what ‘stressors’ are applicable for New Zealand retail workers, such as alienation, and can inform both praxis and future research into supporting retail workers.

The goal of this research is to support workers’ movements towards improved working experiences and exploring what obstacles exist to the development of worker interests.

Limitations include the time of day of recruitment processes, however, recruitment between the hours of 10am-2pm, Monday-Friday are likely best in order to include parents of school children, and ‘typical’ forty-hour week workers. The convenience sampling method may limit the research, but it is the result of requiring a captive sample (Vandebosch, 2008). This may potentially limit external validity, however, it will ensure that recruitment is not managed by ‘gatekeepers’, such as employers (Saumure & Given, 2008). Utilising a captive sample demands we ensure confidentiality and convey this to participants (Vandebosch 2008).

Bibliography

Amankwah, M., (2019). Job Quality: The Perceptions and Strategies of New Zealand Workers (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Auckland). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/2292/46861

Banks, J. A. (1998). The Lives and Values of Researchers: Implications for Educating Citizens in a Multicultural Society. Educational Researcher, 27(7), 4–17.

East, D. E. (2020). Insecure here, precarious there? Workfare-style welfare provision in the age of precarious employment in Aotearoa New Zealand (Thesis, Master of Social Sciences (MSocSc) The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/14042

Egan, G. (2013). The skilled helper: A problem-management and opportunity-development approach to helping. Cengage Learning.

Elnahla, Nada and Neilson, Leighann C., "The Stressors Faced by Retail Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2021). Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2021. 2. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/amtp-proceedings_2021/2https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x027007004

Ewertowska, T. M. (2020). Young Workers’ Experiences of Non-Standard Employment in New Zealand (Doctoral dissertation, Auckland University of Technology). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10292/13763

Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual review of public health, 19(1), 173-202.

Jones, A. (2012). Dangerous liaisons: Paleha, kaupapa Maori, and educational research. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 47, 100-112.

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McDonald, J. A., & Clelland, D. A. (1984). Textile Workers and Union Sentiment. Social Forces, 63(2), 502–521. doi:10.1093/sf/63.2.502  

O’Sullivan, M. (2019). Introduction to Zero Hours and On-call Work in Anglo-Saxon Countries. Work, Organization, and Employment, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6613-0_1

Rayce, S. B., Kreiner, S., Damsgaard, M. T., Nielsen, T., & Holstein, B. E. (2018). Measurement of alienation among adolescents: construct validity of three scales on powerlessness, meaninglessness and social isolation. Journal of patient-reported outcomes, 2(1), 1-12.

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