Today's youth in our society are living amidst multidimensional uncertainties and instabilities in life, including the precariousness of labor. The younger generation struggles every day for survival, facing the harsh realities of precarious employmen...
Today's youth in our society are living amidst multidimensional uncertainties and instabilities in life, including the precariousness of labor. The younger generation struggles every day for survival, facing the harsh realities of precarious employment. Despite the challenging conditions, part-time youth workers in convenience stores, who are among those experiencing the most unfavorable working conditions, surprisingly expressed satisfaction with their jobs, contrary to common expectations.
Therefore, this study focuses on the experiences and perceptions related to job satisfaction of part-time young convenience store workers. The purpose of this study is to understand why they are satisfied with their jobs and what meaning their ‘satisfaction’ entails. To achieve this, qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interviews with part-time young convenience store workers. The analysis employed a framework analysis method that integrates qualitative analysis with an deductive approach.
The research results are as follows:
Firstly, participants perceived part-time work at convenience stores as a ‘labor in the context of a transitory proscess or path’. This was further categorized and analyzed thematically as ‘earning pocket money’ and ‘replaceable labor’. Due to the perception of convenience store work as a means to ‘earn pocket money’, expectations regarding the job were inevitably low. Therefore, in order for part-time convenience store workers to be recognized as subjects of labor, their labor rights must be respected, necessitating the establishment of legal and policy frameworks for this purpose.
Secondly, for the participants, convenience store labor was viewed as ‘survival labor’. Young convenience store workers were engaging in labor for survival, resembling what Arendt referred to as ‘animal laborans’. Their constrained economic conditions drove participants to perceive convenience store work not as an existential endeavor but as labor essential for survival. Consequently, to enable part-time young convenience store workers to lead a life of substance, social rights need to be safeguarded. Concrete policies, such as providing a universal wage to ensure a minimum income for livelihood and survival, are essential.
Thirdly, research participants believed in the notion of ‘effort-reward labor’. They considered convenience store work, despite its poor quality, to be the labor they deserved as they did not put in any effort and were incapable. In a meritocratic society, they had a belief that effort and skills would inevitably lead to rewards. Therefore participants, despite being aware of the unfavorable conditions of convenience store labor, did not express dissatisfaction or raise issues in the working environment. In a meritocratic society, discrimination, exclusion, and unfair treatment are perceived as one's own fault and responsibility due to insufficient effort and skills. Therefore, citizen education and learning are necessary for workers to become aware of and reflect on the dehumanizing effects of unjust orders and structures. Additionally, social policy support for education and learning is crucial in achieving this.