Status and Power in Interactive Service Work

How do workers consent to their self-exploitation and stay in unequal labor relations? This is a classic question in the study of workplace inequality, with many researchers dedicated to identify the underlying mechanisms. Borrowing insights from structural social psychological theories, this paper explicates how experimental research about micro-level status and exchange processes contribute to the study of inequality reproduction at work. Psychological outcomes during workplace encounters worth a thorough assessment. I further discuss how a mixed-method approach could faciliate research investigating beliefs, emotions, and behavioral patterns arising from workplace interactions.