Downplaying Upskilling: Consumption as a Credential in Beauty Retail Work

• In Event: Consumers and Consumption Section Open Call Paper Session

Abstract

Labor scholars characterize retail as a “low skill” and “bad” job. Existing literature finds that some retail employees accept poor working conditions because of non-economic benefits, such as being affiliated with a brand that appeals to their consumer identity. Although scholars have offered positive and negative implications of the relationship between identity, consumption, and retail work, less is known about how the consumerist ethos is shaped by organizational mechanisms that blur the boundary between work and consumption. Drawing on interviews with beauty retail workers, this article examines the construction of the “worker-consumer” identity in a sector where aesthetic labor is highly salient. My preliminary findings indicate that beauty retail employees are drawn to their places of employment because of their consumer identity. Organizational practices such as minimal training and free products are understood by workers as opportunities to satisfy their consumerist desires and develop lay knowledge, but their aesthetic labor and skills remain devalued. This article concludes with the need to recognize consumption as key to how beauty retail workers develop their professional skills and a call for making these positions better jobs.

Author

• Blyss Cleveland, Stanford University