Research summary

  • The project examines work in the growing UK warehouse industry.
  • Data collection draws on the experiences of over 80 workers and employers in the UK.
  • The findings highlight the need for meaningful informal and formal channels that enable warehouse workers to influence organisational decision-making.
Warehouse workers discuss inventory using a tablet and laptop between storage racks.

Project overview

Researchers at the Work and Equalities Institute (WEI) and Queen's University Belfast are collaborating to examine worker experiences and employer perspectives in various types of warehouses.

The project explores the relevance of the UK Government’s Good Work agenda for warehouse work. It also considers the role of technology in shaping work in the warehouse industry.

The findings offer insights for policymakers, employers and unions internationally on how working practices in warehouses can be improved.

The findings

Researchers at the WEI are leading the study of worker experiences and researchers at Queen's University Belfast are focusing on employer perspectives.

Qualitative data collection draws on the experiences of over 80 workers and employers, which involves company site visits, semi-structured interviews, and gathering relevant secondary data.

Data is being collected from five types of UK warehouses:

  • Third-party logistics - providing storage and distribution services for client organisations
  • Online retail - fulfilling customer orders for goods sold online
  • Retail/mixed retail - distributing goods to physical stores only, or to both physical stores and online customers
  • Manufacturing - picking, packing, and dispatching manufactured products and, in some cases, other goods
  • Courier - sorting and routing parcels for delivery

The project examines the extent to which workers have a voice over the following practices:

  • Performance management
  • Pay and rewards
  • Training and development
  • Work scheduling
  • Health and safety

The findings identify some instances of worker voice over the above working practices, but overall, workers had very limited influence over how work was organised in their warehouse.

Impact

Findings are being disseminated to policy makers and practitioners in events organised by our knowledge exchange partners:

Meet the team