Slovenian shopping centres today represent a place where consumers do not go only for shopping but also for spending their free time, which undoubtedly contributes to increased number of visitors in shopping centres. Higher number of visitors represents an opportunity to increase profit, which prolongs the opening hours of shopping centres and consequently reduces the possibilities for quality leisure time for employees. Using survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, I examined how different opening hours and working times in Slovenian shopping centres affect the social capital of employees and how they are facing it and what strategies they use to harmonize work and private life. In my research, I focused primarily on employees in the largest and most visited Slovenian shopping centres. The survey has shown that Sunday work, working on holidays and shift work have the most negative effect on the social capital of employees, which is most reflected in the micro level of social capital, which includes strong social ties between family, relatives and friends. The new Collective Agreement has brought positive change, which mainly refers to Sunday and holiday work. Nevertheless, there are still areas that need to be regulated in order to find possibilities for better harmony of work and private life of employees in shopping centres.
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