Abstract
This paper examines a café as a workplace. The position adopted is the constitutive view, whereby patrons of the café were observed as they worked. Data was obtained from thirteen ethnographic participant-observations, two hours each in length, conducted over a two-month period. It is argued that the environment provides a “sense of place” that normalizes patrons’ use of space and time, resulting in the typology of a leisure time-space worker. Themes include: patrons’ use of space to work, type of work done, and lastly, that the multi-functional work-leisure context allows for patrons’different use of time to work. This project contributes to existing research by showing how, in subtle ways, people behave in public spaces, and thereby informing our understanding of the norms underlying social behavior in public settings.
Recommended Citation
Christie, Erin
(2012)
"Understanding space and time through the exploration of a cafe as a workplace,"
Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association: Vol. 2009, Article 2.
Available at:
https://docs.rwu.edu/nyscaproceedings/vol2009/iss1/2