Too hot to handle? An analysis of chefs’ job quality in Australian restaurants

Abstract

Chefs are lauded in popular culture. Yet doubts regarding the quality of chefs’ jobs have intensified in Australia following recent instances of underpayments in high-profile restaurants. This case study-based research examines the job quality of chefs in mid-level and premium restaurants. The findings allow for the development of empirical and theoretical contributions by revealing the prevalence of objectively ‘bad’ jobs and why they are tolerated subjectively. The article finds that temporal orientations influenced workers’ subjective perceptions of job quality, which represents an original contribution to job quality scholarship.