Cost of Cash: Evidence from Cashiers

An important but overlooked cost of payments in retailing is the cost on checkout cashiers. This paper examines the compensating wage differential that cashiers require to handle payments in cash. First, a multicountry panel data study shows that cashier wages increase with retail cash usage, which is consistent with cashiers requiring compensation to handle cash. Second, in a discrete choice experiment where supermarket cashiers chose between collecting card and cash payments, eight of 10 cashiers preferred card to cash. Among those who preferred card, the median cashier required a wage premium of S$37.50 (US$27) a month to handle cash. The premium was lower among cashiers who are local, less risk averse, and younger. Third, in a laboratory study, subjects traded off earnings against stress. With higher frequency of cash payments, high earners experienced greater physiological stress than low earners. Earnings also increased with abilities in arithmetic and coping with stress. Collectively, these studies show that cashiers require higher wages to handle cash payments, in part due to higher stress. We offer policy, managerial, and research implications for job design, payment systems, and workplace stress.

Self-Reported Musculoskeletal Disorders and Quality of Life in Supermarket Cashiers

Supermarket cashiers face a significant amount of stress, including time constraints, mental pressure, and physical demands that require repetitive movements. The job description of a supermarket cashier involves work-related risk factors that may lead to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms. This study aimed to investigate supermarket cashiers to determine the prevalence of MSD symptoms and their quality of life. Data were collected from a convenience sample of supermarket cashiers working in Saudi Arabia. Information included direct questions on pain in the previous 12 months, demographic data, and health- or occupation-related factors. Moreover, data was collected based on the 36-item short form survey (SF-36), and descriptive statistics were computed. A total of 193 supermarket cashiers participated in this study. The sample included 140 men (72.5%) and 53 women (27.5%), with a mean age of 27.2 ± 6.4 years. The majority of the participants (90%) had MSD symptoms in at least one body region, with the neck (66.84%) and lower back (65.80%) constituting the most prominent regions. The mean SF-36 scores were higher in participants without pain compared to participants with pain in all domains, except for the physical functioning domain. The high prevalence of MSD symptoms among young cashiers suggest the need for additional investigations to determine the risk factors of these disorders. Additionally, this study recommends preventive procedures to reduce the prevalence of MSD symptoms among cashiers.

Cardiovascular risk and quality of life in supermarket cashiers: The role of physical activity

BACKGROUND: Occupations might influence the employees’ psychophysical conditions and an important issue is the human activity mechanization, which favors a hypokinetic work status and leads to several chronic diseases. One of the most hypokinetic occupations is the supermarket cashier, in which the individual may spend many hours a day in the same body position. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between cardiovascular risk, quality of life and physical activity level in supermarket cashiers. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study which included 200 supermarket cashiers aged 20 to 41 years from São Paulo, Brazil. The following cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated: overweight, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and tobacco smoking. Physical activity level and quality of life were assessed with the short-form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAq) and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL), respectively. Student t test and Chi-square were carried out to evaluate mean gender comparations and frequency, respectively. Logistic regression models were applied to determine the association between cardiovascular risk factors and physical activity level. RESULTS: The prevalence for all cardiovascular risk factors was significantly high in the cashiers with a low physical activity level. However, there was a significant reduction in several risk factors in the groups with moderate and high physical activity levels. The odds ratio values were significantly reduced for the association between the cardiovascular risk factors and the moderate and high physical activity levels. The cashiers with moderate and high physical activity levels showed significantly higher quality of life scores for the social and environmental domain. CONCLUSIONS: A high physical activity level is positively related to quality of life in supermarket cashiers.