More than convenience: the role of habitus in understanding the food choices of fast food workers

Julia Woodhall-Melnik and Flora I Matheson
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Julia Woodhall-Melnik: McMaster University, Canada
Flora I Matheson: St. Michael’s Hospital, Canada; University of Toronto, Canada

Work, Employment & Society, 2017, vol. 31, issue 5, 800-815

Abstract: This article explores the consumption practices of fast food workers through the lens of Bourdieu, specifically his notion of habitus. The authors address a gap in knowledge in the field of fast food work and explore the ways that the family environment and social relationships outside the family shape adult food choices using qualitative interviews with 40 fast food workers. Most fast food workers eat fast food when they are at work but their consumption patterns and choices reflect familial, cultural and class-based eating patterns and learning in adult social relationships (e.g., eating practices with friends). Some engage in a deliberate (conscious) process in their eating habits. The findings suggest that structure, disposition and conscious thought may influence food consumption.

Keywords: Bourdieu; consumption; fast food work; food choices; habitus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:5:p:800-815

DOI: 10.1177/0950017016648255

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