Cai, Minjie ORCID: 0000-0003-1739-0474, Tartanoglu Bennett, Safak ORCID: 0000-0002-2858-8606, Stroleny, Alexandra and Tindal, Scott ORCID: 0000-0002-9262-9898 (2023) Between mundane and extreme: the nature of work on the UK supermarket frontline during a public health crisis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. pp. 1-28. ISSN 0958-5192 (Print), 1466-4399 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2023.2250988)

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Abstract

The normally low-risk and routinised nature of supermarket frontline work evolved drastically amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a refined conceptual framework of extreme work, this article examines how the public health crisis coupled with maxinisation of organisational flexibility gives rise to extremity in mundane work settings. The findings based on 50 interviews with workers and managers who worked throughout the pandemic on the UK supermarket frontline offer empirical insights into the macro-micro dynamics of extreme-mundane work. These insights reveal a nuanced narrative of supermarket work as both alienating, owing to the frequent encounters of abuse and undervalued responsibilities, and fulfilling as a respite from social isolation induced by the pandemic. This narrative illustrates the complexities of individual motivations to engage with extreme work, while highlighting a need for structural support in coping with elevated exposure to risks and uncertainties. The article argues that the nature of work and workplaces in the face of extreme externalities remains contingent upon human resource management practices on the frontline of a crisis.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	COVID-19 pandemic; crisis management; extreme context; extreme job; extreme work; HRM retail frontline
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD61 Risk Management
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business
Last Modified:	12 Sep 2023 14:40
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/44100

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