Le sens du travail des caissier.e.s à l’épreuve du COVID : une approche située et longitudinale

Abstract

Lowly valued and exposed to insecurity, the so-called “second-line” job of cashier saw its working conditions deteriorate during the COVID-19 crisis. Based on the literature on the meaning of work, cashier activity and the effects of COVID on careers, the study predicted that the meaning given to work would derive essentially from interactions with customers and perceived social usefulness. It was also expected that meaning would change during the COVID-19 crisis, and that this would have an impact on career projections. The double analysis, automated via Iramuteq and manual, of interviews with cashiers collected on two occasions during the first (n = 10) and third (n = 7) lockdowns confirms the importance and ambivalence of interactions with customers in the meaning found in work, as well as the changes in meaning and career projections between the two lockdowns.