“It’s Not Like Chasing Chanel:” Spending Time, Investing in the Self, and Pandemic Epiphanies

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the labor market and given rise to the Great Resignation. Drawing on a mixed methods panel study of 199 precarious and gig-based workers, we analyze how a changing conception of free time during the Covid-19 pandemic led low-wage service workers to seek more fulfilling careers. Whereas most workers initially perceived free time in terms of opportunity costs, they later reconceived this time as enabling an investment in personal growth, moving from “spending time” making money to “investing time” in themselves. This shift in temporal experience is expressed through the adoption of a “work passion” logic and “pandemic epiphanies” that motivated respondents to seek self-affirming and potentially more lucrative work opportunities.

The search for training and skill improvement of seasonal workers in tourism

“…In this regard, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the tourism industry has been particularly harsh (Sigala, 2020; Perles-Ribes et al ., 2023), with many workers in the undeclared economy unable to access the financial supports provided by the governments to tourism (Williams, 2021). The consequent massive outflow of workers from the tourism sector during the COVID-19 standstill period (Han et al ., 2022), along with the “Great Resignation” phenomenon, a longer-term trend that particularly affected restaurants, bars and hotels (Ravenelle and Kowalski, 2023), did not only produce bottlenecks and unmatched vacancies, but it also caused a sudden loss of human capital, whose disruptive effects has subsequently emerged at the time of the recovery (Colmekcioglu et al ., 2022). Overall, this pattern emphasized that industry human capital is a crucial factor for the post-pandemic recovery of the tourism sector, and calls for new training and motivational requirements for those seasonal workers who will enter the tourism labour market in the next future.…”

“…Moreover, at the time of the recovery workers will enter the sector again, and the industry will need appropriate skills to support the rebound (Thomas and Long, 2001; Seyitoğlu and Costa, 2022) and to tackle the rise of the “Great Resignation” phenomenon, which identifies an unparalleled phenomenon of mass voluntary quitting that reached its peak at the end of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 (Fuller and Kerr, 2022; Celbis et al ., 2023). This is particularly true for seasonal labour markets since voluntary separations have been particularly widespread among people employed in temporary contract with unpredictable work schedules (Ravenelle and Kowalski, 2023), and unsurprisingly in the tourism industry, which has experienced one of its most severe labour shortages during this period (Formica and Sfodera, 2022).…”

Management in Times of Crisis: A Qualitative Exploration of the Great Resignation from a Social Exchange Perspective

“…For example, pandemic epiphanies provide a cursory explanation. They are described as, “biographical turning points that motivate workers to reject an exclusive focus on employability in favor of seeking personal fulfillment and better work conditions” (Ravenelle & Kowalski, 2022, p. 290). While the notion of a pandemic epiphany has been widely accepted as the overarching reason for the Great Resignation, there are likely underlying drivers that led to the trend.…”

“I Could Be Unemployed the Rest of the Year”: Unprecedented Times and the Challenges of “Making More”

“…Although most of the respondents did not start businesses with their unemployment assistance, their focus on laying the framework for a career change or more successful entrepreneurial venture was not unique. Creative freelancers in particular often focused on taking their time on unemployment to "make the future" that workers wanted to have after the pandemic (Ravenelle and Kowalski 2022). For many workers this meant getting back in shape, or taking classes in preparation for future auditions or roles.…”