The crossroads of the work: an approach to the retail workplace in Santiago of Chile

Abstract

The article seeks to understand the workplace of a department store in Santiago de Chile, through the perspective of the workers. Under the sociology of the individual approach, the workplace is described through a set of "crossroads" that salespeople deal with on a daily basis at work. A qualitative methodology was used that consisted of a case study of a store, based on interviews and participant observation. The results consist of seven crossroads related to the entrance to the store; the organization of work; the presentation of the worker in the store, the ambivalence in the relationship with the partners; the plurality of relationships with clients; the paradoxical relationship with hierarchy and the time management. The interpretation of the workplace created by the seven crossroads allows relating the objective conditions with the subjective dimension of the work in the department store.