An exploration of voice and power in contemporary online retail UK warehouse work

当代在线零售英国仓库工作中的声音和权力探索

• 批准号: ES/W009684/1
• 负责人: Niall Cullinane
• 金额: $ 74.95万
• 依托单位: Queen's University Belfast
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FW009684%2F1
• 关键词: exploration; voice; power; contemporary; online

Recent years have seen a decline in 'bricks and mortar' retail on the high street and a turn to online shopping. Accompanying that development is a growth in retail warehousing and an associated expansion in employment opportunities in such settings. While the media spotlight has turned our attention to examples of poor employment practices in the sector, there is little systematic academic research to account for the quality of working experiences in the online retail warehouse setting. Given recent government commitments to develop a Good Work agenda in the UK, this research will assess how well major UK online retail warehouses deliver on 'good work' objectives - job satisfaction, fair pay, participation and progression, well-being, safety and security, voice and autonomy. In particular, by targeting the largest employers in the sector, we will ask to what extent workers can voice their views on the various terms and conditions of employment that make up the Good Work plan and to what extent that they have the power to influence such items? The project aims to assess to what extent workers' interests are being heard and addressed in the industry and what types of supports are needed to counter any evident deficits in the capacity to effectively voice.The project will undertake an interview programme spread across eight of the largest online retail warehouses throughout the UK with workers and managers in the sector. Interviews will also be conducted with other key relevant actors and groups including national/international networks and alliances; civil society agencies/formal institutional bodies related to work; trade union representatives of warehouse workers and employer associations, groups or bodies. The semi-structured interviews will be supplemented with audio/video worker diaries to enable methodological innovation. A basic project specific app will be developed to collect the audio/visual diary data. To advise on the research design and aid with participant recruitment, research dissemination and impact we have secured support from key stakeholders, including nine advisory board members. CIPD and the IPA will also contribute to the research team as knowledge exchange partners and will help maximize the impact of the project across a wide range of policy making and stakeholder audiences. The outputs from the project will include at least two events that participants, academics and other stakeholders can attend; blogs; newsletters; articles on the project's own website hub and disseminated through wider media; journal articles, conference presentations in employment relations conferences; a monograph book, individual and comparative case study reports and a worker voice tool kit. The widely accessible worker voice tool kit will be created with the support of advisory board members, including the CIPD and IPA as knowledge exchange partners. The tool kit will enable policy makers and online retail warehouse employers to examine existing practices within online retail warehouses and identify ways of enhancing employee voice and influence. The outputs from the project could potentially involve inter-project collaboration. We would develop a network of ESRC project investigators through organizing a yearly workshop and facilitating online discussion sessions and communications.

近年来，商业街上的“实体”零售业有所下降，转而转向网上购物。伴随着这一发展的是零售仓储的增长和这类环境中就业机会的相关扩大。虽然媒体的聚光灯已经将我们的注意力转向了该行业不良就业实践的例子，但很少有系统的学术研究来解释在线零售仓库环境中工作经验的质量。鉴于最近政府承诺在英国制定一个良好的工作议程，这项研究将评估英国主要的在线零售仓库如何实现“良好的工作”目标-工作满意度，公平的薪酬，参与和进步，福祉，安全和保障，声音和自主权。特别是，通过针对该部门最大的雇主，我们将询问工人在多大程度上可以就构成良好工作计划的各种就业条款和条件发表意见，以及他们在多大程度上有权力影响这些条款？该项目旨在评估行业中工人的利益在多大程度上得到倾听和解决，以及需要哪些类型的支持来弥补有效表达能力方面的任何明显缺陷。该项目将在英国8个最大的在线零售仓库开展采访计划，采访该行业的工人和管理人员。还将与其他主要相关行为者和团体进行访谈，包括国家/国际网络和联盟;与工作有关的民间社会机构/正式体制机构;仓库工人的工会代表和雇主协会、团体或机构。半结构化访谈将辅以音频/视频工作者日记，以实现方法创新。将开发一个基本的项目特定应用程序，以收集音频/视频日志数据。为了就研究设计提供建议，并帮助参与者招募，研究传播和影响，我们获得了包括九名顾问委员会成员在内的主要利益相关者的支持。CIPD和IPA还将作为知识交流伙伴为研究团队做出贡献，并将帮助最大限度地扩大项目对广泛的政策制定和利益攸关方受众的影响。该项目的产出将包括至少两次参与者、学术界人士和其他利益攸关方可以参加的活动;博客;通讯;在该项目自己的网站中心上发表并通过更广泛的媒体传播的文章;期刊文章、在就业关系会议上的会议发言;一本专著、个人和比较案例研究报告以及一个工人声音工具包。将在咨询委员会成员的支持下，包括作为知识交流伙伴的促进发展国际中心和投资促进机构的支持下，创建可广泛使用的工人声音工具包。该工具包将使政策制定者和在线零售仓库雇主能够检查在线零售仓库的现有做法，并确定增强员工发言权和影响力的方法。该项目的产出可能涉及项目间的协作。我们将通过组织年度研讨会和促进在线讨论和交流，建立ESRC项目调查员网络。