Unmasking the realities: A study of young service workers' experiences during COVID-19


Isabella Matchett, Mount Allison University; Fab Antonelli, Mount Allison University

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on workplaces, organizational processes, and workers. Due to rapid shifts in expectations, duties, and responsibilities, there has been a lack of clarity in defining roles, boundaries, and expectations for workers in relation to their employers, customers, and clients. These changes have resulted in increased stress, anxiety, and burnout among employees. What makes this particularly acute for young workers is the relative lack of power, control, and autonomy in their workplaces compared with older workers more established in their careers. Working in the service industry can be a challenging experience for young people, as the work tends to be precarious. Organizations tend to view young people as a transient labour force, leaving them vulnerable to unstable and exploitative working conditions. Young service workers are consistently navigating the expectations of their employers, managers, and customers. As a result, these workers must ensure that everyones expectations are met in ways that take considerable patience, determination, and hard work, all while engaging with public presentations and performances that keep them on the “front stage.” Despite these challenges, young people dominate work in the service industry as it is their primary way to gain valuable experience and income early in their career development. This paper presents the results of in-depth interviews conducted with eight university students between the ages of 18 and 25. The interviews focus on work experiences before and after the COVID-19 pandemic for young people engaged in paid work early in their career development. Specifically, this study examines the impact of the pandemic on the level of stress experienced by students working in entry-level service jobs. Based on the preliminary findings, it appears that the pandemic has put young service workers in exploitative work environments, leading to significant stress and health issues. For example, the workplace and social distancing protocols have added to the workers burden, creating additional stressors while dealing with customers and requiring them to perform duties outside their job description without adequate compensation. More importantly, participants have noted the challenges in addressing these workplace situations and have simply taken on the extra work and stress due to a perceived inability or a sense of futility to employ alternative approaches to their work. The studys results will shed light on the impact these experiences have on life course and career development and how measures employed during the pandemic may have impacted the relative power young service workers have in their workplaces. 

This paper will be presented at the following session: