Waitressing,Vulnerability,and Job Autonomy

Abstract

The question for research is: what effect does job autonomy have on the sense of vulnerability expressed by those working for tips rather than for contracted wages? Vulnerability, the dependent variable, is a measure of the worker's perception of risk attached to working under such an arrangement. Autonomy, the independent variable, evaluates organizational conditions which permit or limit control over one's work. It is measured by restaurant procedures of surveillance and discipline. Sixty-one waitresses employed as the dining room staff of a stratified sample of 8 restaurants provided the data to test the relationship between autonomy and occupational vulnerability. A positive association was found between procedures of autonomy and the restaurant worker's expression of vulnerability. Study findings suggest that the less control restaurant management allows the waitress over the execution of her work, the more vulnerable and less satisfied she is with the tipping/wage arrangement. In addition, study findings suggest that autonomy is as critical a variable for women in their work as it has been reported to be in studies of the male labor force.