Humour in Retail Work: Jokes Salespeople Tell about Their Clients

A defining feature of our era is the rapid growth of the information and service economy. This infrastructural shift has changed the way we produce and consume. It has also changed the occupational landscape, bringing knowledge and service work to centre stage. For example, Hecker (2005: 71) analysing Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2004-2014 in the US labour force , states: "Among the 10 major occupational groups, employment in the two largest in 2004 – professional and related occupations and service occupations – is projected to increase the fastest and add the most jobs [in the USA] from 2004 to 2014."