Title: Staging value and older women workers: when 'something more' is too much

Authors: Susan Ainsworth, Leanne Cutcher

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Business, Work and Organisational Studies, The Institute Building H03, The University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. ' Faculty of Economics and Business, Work and Organisational Studies, The Institute Building H03, The University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia

Abstract: Images of older workers are rarely used to promote products and services. It is most often young, vibrant bodies that organisations use to stage their brand ethos. Perhaps for this reason almost all studies of aesthetic labour have focused on young workers. In this paper we seek to broaden our understanding of aesthetic labour by exploring the staging value of older workers. We draw on examples from two service settings to highlight the greater agency and moral authority embodied in older women workers. We argue that the |something more| these workers bring to their roles may be valued or rejected depending on the organization|s brand ethos.

Keywords: age; older women; staging value; habitus; aesthetic labour; promotion; marketing; advertising; brand ethos.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWOE.2008.022113

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 2008 Vol.2 No.4, pp.344 - 357

Published online: 18 Dec 2008 *

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