The Effects of Racialized Workplace Discourse on Race-Based Service in Full-Service Restaurants

Abstract

Existing studies have found that restaurant servers sometimes deliver service that is informed by their customers' race. However, we know considerably less about the causes underlying such discriminatory behaviors within the restaurant context. In this study, we advance this literature by analyzing data derived from a survey of restaurant servers (N = 195) to assess the effects of working in a racialized workplace environment, characterized by racist and stereotypical discourse, on servers' reports of providing race-based service. Our findings reveal a strong statistically significant positive relationship between observing racialized workplace discourse and servers' self-professed discriminatory behaviors. Furthermore, we find that these effects are not mediated or moderated by servers' willingness to participate in the discursive spreading of racial stereotypes by discussing their customers' race with peers. We conclude by identifying suggestions that restaurant leaders might consider to reduce racial discrimination within the restaurant industry.

Economic Motivations and Moral Controls Regulating Discrimination Against Black and Hispanic Diners

“…A significant positive effect of using negative/derogatory language is also observed in model 1, indicating that subjects who report using such language are more likely to confess that they discriminate against black diners ( b = .205, p < .01). This finding is consistent with extant research (Dirks and Rice ; Rusche and Brewster ; Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ) and provides evidence suggesting that the negative/derogatory language that servers use to describe customers may sometimes be racialized. Not surprisingly, servers' general tendencies to withhold effort from customers is shown in model 1 to be predictive of higher cumulative log‐odds of withholding effort from black customers ( b = .393, p < .001).…”

“…Dirks and Rice ; Noll and Arnold ). Also, given existing research implicating racialized discourse in servers' proclivities to discriminate against restaurant patrons of color (Rusche and Brewster ; Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ), we include in our analysis an averaged index constructed from responses to two items asking servers to indicate how often they “described customers using derogatory terms/phrases” or “made negative ‘behind the scenes’ comments about customers” (r = .54; from 1 = never to 5 = all the time).…”

Racialized and Classed Contexts: Shifting Audiences and Changes in Emotional Labor Among Restaurant Servers

“…; Hochschild ; Leidner ), specifically how workers who are required to engage in emotional labor as a central part of their job manage the accompanying strain (Abraham ; Bailey and McCollough ; Evans ; Kim ; Korczynski ; Warhurst ). It further relies on the previous work done on “two‐faced racism” (Picca and Feagin ) and the acceptance of racialized and classed stereotypes among restaurant servers (Barkan and Israeli ; Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Mallinson and Brewster ) . Because there are different spaces within the same work environment, researchers rely on Erving Goffman's () concepts of “frontstage” and “backstage” spaces, and argue that workers’ emotional labor with customers occurs in the frontstage (Chu ; Evans ; Hochschild ; Leidner ; Wharton ), whereas the consequences of dealing with emotional labor are likely to take place in the backstage (Korczynski ; Wharton ).…”

“…Previous research has found that some servers harbor perceptions about customer behavior, such as tipping, that are explicitly racialized and classed (Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Mallinson and Brewster ). Most troublesome is that servers may allow these biases to affect how they manage their presentation of self (Barkan and Israeli ; Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Mallinson and Brewster ).…”

“…Previous research has found that some servers harbor perceptions about customer behavior, such as tipping, that are explicitly racialized and classed (Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Mallinson and Brewster ). Most troublesome is that servers may allow these biases to affect how they manage their presentation of self (Barkan and Israeli ; Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Mallinson and Brewster ). That is, when servers immediately size up customers to determine whether they will likely tip well, various types of biases may influence how servers actually treat customers (Barkan and Israeli ; Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Mallinson and Brewster ).…”