The Hidden Technological Labour of Service Workers in Health and Beauty Shops

Abstract

Advances in computing have started the digital transformation of work and there is hardly any occupational domain that is not affected by it. Yet, some jobs are still considered "nontechnical"- such as for example the work of shop assistants in health and beauty retail. In this paper we take a focused look at the ways that advances in computing have also affected their work routines: Which technological labour do these "nontechnical"workers perform on a daily basis? And why is this dimension of their work so often overlooked? To address these questions we present the results of an interdisciplinary qualitative study. The findings highlight the versatility of technologies employed and illustrate the sociotechnical complexity of the performed work tasks. Our discussion relates our insights to previous research on functional invisibility and offers a supplementing analysis of several hiding mechanisms. Thereby, the paper contributes a critical look that reveals the ways that keep technological labour downplayed, overlooked and undervalued in this particular female-dominated low-wage occupation of the service sector.