Preferred Unemployment? Digital Counterpublics and the Struggle for Recognition in Service Work
Keywords:
service sector, work experiences, digital activism, counterpublics, vulnerabilityAbstract
This study explores the Finnish critical public debate on work, focusing on the ways in which employee vulnerability is circulated and politicized through sharing of confessional and personal accounts on social media. We also examine the recognition gaps experienced in the workplace, not only to empirically map the types of work experiences employees share anonymously on social media, but also to develop a research approach that utilizes the concept of recognition to identify and understand the unequalizing and injuring practices of work life. The research data consists of Instagram posts from the Mieluummin työtön (Preferred Unemployment) campaign, where employees anonymously share their firsthand negative work experiences, especially in the service sector (N = 731). We analyse the data through a theory-informed lens, which resulted in three outlines that provide insights into recognition struggles in Finnish working life. On the basis of the findings of this study, we propose that recognition gaps are central to the narration that describes the vulnerability of employees to negative work experiences. Yet the campaign itself provides a venue for communal belonging, peer support and recognition among employees.
