Exploring Work Values of Low-Wage Workers in Public and Private Higher Education Institutions (2024)

Undergraduate: Imani Rankins

Faculty Advisor: Arne Kalleberg
Department: Sociology

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Job quality within the American labor force has progressively taken a downturn, as many Americans experience worsening conditions and stagnant wages. This leaves American workers insecure. Work values are identified by various labor sociologists a mode for workers to understand their workplace, find satisfaction from their work, and substantiate the universal work value of dignity. The present work aims to examine the difference between work values of people employed in the two employment sectors of low wage work. Current legislation in North Carolina, General Statue § 95-98 prohibits state and local workers from entering into collective bargaining agreements with their employers. This reality leave few avenues for workers to challenge and hold their employers accountable in the public sector. This study draws upon interviews with Housekeepers employed by public and private higher education institutions in the Research Trinagle Park area to examine how work values and dignity differ between these two sectors. I consider how previous job experience, race, class, and gender influence ideas of worker satisfaction through what work values are emphasized. I coded the prevalence of keywords of satisfaction and dissatisfaction through the qualitative coding platform Dedoose, to compare the prevalence of work values between the two sectors for further comparison. Through this analysis, I found that workers within the public and private sector differ largely in the work values they prioritize and how they navigate the workplace. Workers also emphasize the importance of feeling dignity within through their work values and feeling less dignified when work values are not met.