Supermarket work conditions and experiences: An exploration of labor flexibilization in Chilean Retail

Abstract

This article presents the results of a qualitative study done in 2007 and 2008 in Santiago, Chile. Its objectives were to describe and understand the work conditions and experience of a group of men and women with low occupational levels working on the sales room and at the checkouts of a large national supermarket chain. The presentation and discussion of our findings seek to contribute to a better understanding of the profound flexibilization and modernization processes experienced by the retail sector in Chile in recent decades, especially with respect to their impact on the work experience of the subjects employed in this sector. Thus, we take a psycho-social perspective in this attempt to shed light on the laboral aspects of changes in the retail world, which have been relegated to the background as other approaches have emphasized the economic, cultural, and consumption dimensions of these transformations