Methods


The material for this chapter is the product of face-to-face, qualitative interviews conducted with twelve current employees, eight former employees , and the store director at Funtime Toys. Funtime Toys was chosen because one of the authors, Brian Zirkle, had previous experience working at the store and was familiar with the store director. This allowed Zirkle to approach current employees without making concessions to store management regarding access to our data or how the store would be portrayed. The only request made by store management was that we not use the actual name of the store. Thirteen of the employees interviewed were male, and seven were female . They ranged in age from 18 to 54, and length of employment ranged from one to twelve years. The store director was a male in his mid-thirties, who had been in this position for two years, having served as the store manager for three years prior to becoming the director. Thirteen were full-time workers, while the other seven worked part-time . Ten of the participants worked primarily on the sales floor, four participants worked in the service area, and five worked in the storeroom. One interviewee was a janitorial worker.

One of the strengths of qualitative interviews is the potential for developing rich texts that allow researchers to analyze thematically the lived experiences of subjects (Kvale, 1996). Through our interviews with Funtime workers, we are able to describe and interpret the subtle nuances of how employees experience and find meaning in their work. The interviews lasted between one and three hours, with most being around two hours in duration. Nearly all of the interviews were conducted at the homes of the participants. Four interviews, including the one with the store director, were done at Funtime Toys at the request of the participants. In these cases, interviews were completed in isolated areas where privacy could be assured. All the names used here are fictitious. In the interviews we discussed with employees a variety of issues relevant to surveillance in the workplace. In particular, we discussed the types of surveillance used at Funtime Toys, opinions about these technologies, and how employees respond to surveillance. We also discussed their relationships with other employees and store management. In our interview with the store director, we discussed the ways that technological surveillance was used in the store, what management s goals were in the use of these technologies, and the limitations he perceived these technologies to have. Furthermore, we discussed his management style and techniques, his perceptions of the employees, and the relationships he had with them.




Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace. Controversies and Solutions
Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace: Controversies and Solutions
ISBN: 1591404568
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 161

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