"There is no future for oldies" : Sensing dignity and alienation in the cabin

• Female cabin attendants who have been in the occupation for 25 years or more have been interviewed. They were middle-aged, middle-class women, and they told about the decline of working conditions and the work environment during that time. The point of departure is in the interviews and the literature; from there, the chapter constructs a ‘Dignity–Alienation Model’ in order to interpret the interviewees’ narratives. It is built up by continua for a number of dimensions of dignity and alienation. They are Autonomy–Powerlessness, Meaningful work–Meaningless work, Flourishing–Self-estrangement, Respect–Disrespect, and High work-life quality–Low work-life quality. In all dimensions, there has been a clear movement from subjective dignity towards subjective alienation, although the strength of this development varies. It is shown that working conditions and work environment are causal mechanisms bringing about feelings that are relevant for the alterations in the dimensions of the model. Changes in work from good to bad cause a movement from a sense of dignity to one of alienation, which indicates a drastic downturn in both job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

alienation

dignity

job satisfaction

organizational commitment

working conditions

Sociologi

Sociology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)