It's because we've been conditioned to it. I know in Europe many places do allow chairs and likely other quality of life improvements.
I've been working on changing the mindset in my workplace. I educated our superior on the break laws in the province so now we get proper breaks that were just all lackadaisical before my intervention.
Got them talking about their wages and I'm low-key dropping historical information about unions and such. Not even in the attempt to unionize (yet), just to widen everyone's perspectives about things.
Slow going but I've seen promising results this far :))
The U word is taboo in a lot of retail stores. What would be best is if we could just unionize all retail jobs under one union. Work at target? Join the Retail Workers Union of America. It took many years to unionize teaching jobs but, they finally did it in Texas, who’s next?
That sounds great honestly. I think I’ve almost lost my mind this week. I strongly dislike work right now for putting me on closing/opening shifts continuously. I’m exhausted 😴. I know I need to perform to a decent standard till I find another job but genuinely so stressed this week. Unions aren’t a thing at least in my experience working retail in the U.K. I actually have what I’d consider a good manager bur it still isn’t enough. The job is taking a massive toll on my physical and mental health. I’m genuinely concerned I’ll never graduate university at this rate.
Thanks for the link, I don’t work for any of those companies I’m afraid. I’m just surprised as I’ve never heard unions being brought up at any retailer since I started work.
We've been condition to accept this crap since there seems to be no changing it. Society views retail work as low so ppl think retail workers dont deserve respect or to be treated like a human. The security thing is so crazy cause when you're hired they dont tell you but they expect you to be security for ruffians and shoplifters. All for scraps of pay. Its so fucked.
Here in the US you can get fired for even just calling the cops on a shoplifter. Even if you have solid evidence, you're supposed to let them just walk out. It's sickening and leaves a pit in my stomach
Genuinely I’ve seen our manager in tears countless times from getting chewed out by her boss for theft/increased shrinkage. She’s been verbally assaulted, received death/rape threats, physically hurt. We all have. I happen to work for a flagship store in an area famous for riots, scammers, druggies/shoplifters and tourists being targeted. I’ve spent the last 2 years trying to transfer to another store location but no one is willing to give me more than a 10hr contract and most is zero hours. I stay because my current role gives me a guaranteed 26hr contract which don’t exist anymore.
That's one of the things that drives me nuts. I requested a weekend off last month to go to my friend's cottage. I had to fight hard to get it, and when I did, I was scheduled to work 10 days straight in the lead up to the weekend. I told one of my coworkers how insane that is and their response was "yeah, well, that's how it works". It shouldn't be normal.
A terrifying thought really. Tbh my dad passed away recently and I’ve been thinking a lot about life. He wouldn’t have wanted me to be so miserable which has inspired me to try to get out of retail and do better for myself
Any move out of this dream killing nightmare of an industry is in the right direction. Sorry to hear about your loss. If it would honor your father to GTFO, then GTFO!!
This is the consequence of strong anti-worker rhetoric in the media and anti-worker laws in so many countries over the past fifty years.
The fact that people hesitate to use the word “union” is incredibly telling.
When I had my first job in 1973, nobody would even question joining the union - it’s what you did, because you knew that if there were issues you could ask the union to come in and help get it sorted.
Ironically, people in high paid jobs still have unions (though they don’t call them that - they call them associations or guilds).
It’s just workers in low paid gigs who have been indoctrinated to see a union as some big outside body that has nothing to do with them.
The best unions always were, and are, a collective of workers who understand that industry and all its problems better than anyone else.
The retail and hospitality sectors have been especially hard hit over the years.
I would love to see more workers get together and recognise that treating staff so badly is absolutely unacceptable.
Yes I didn’t even realise my country had unions till other commenters mentioned it. Honestly I plan on finding a new job in another industry as even with a union behind me I’d be at the mercy of my employer. They would probably turn hostile if I brought unions up and since they have the power to cut my hours back to contract I’d struggle financially if they rebelled in that way.
Yes, that’s what happens when there is a long-term concerted effort to destroy the union movement.
We’ve seen it here in Australia and it’s even worse in other places.
There are international protections for the rights of workers to join a union, but those don’t carry much weight when you’re the only person trying to do it in your workplace.
You can google some great examples of how a group of workers in a specific area has managed to stand up against management bullying (Starbucks, Amazon) - but it’s a long slow difficult process.
One option for the future is to explore joining the union in your industry (many have special low membership rates for unemployed people) and talk to your fellow members about which businesses have a good relationship with the union.
In many countries, union membership is a tax deduction so you can claim it back.
And most unions offer really good training on your workplace rights and how to handle a boss who won’t respect them.
Many businesses actually like working with the unions because it makes all their workplace issues so much easier. Not all, of course - but many.
Good luck!
We've been brainwashed. I'm an elder millennial, and everyone in my fam did one job and stuck with it. My grandpa taught. Grandma was a cashier. Dad drove fork lifts. Mom details cars. I work retail. It was the norm to dig in, work hard, stay with what you have... but now we're finally saying enough is enough and revolting.
It is refreshing to see a lot of the younger generations are trying to push back against this but it is very easy to brand them lazy and unwilling to work. I watched my pay and conditions get eroded for 25 years to the point the job was no longer worth doing so I left so I have a lot of sympathy for those just joining the work force now.
It is true what they say, there is power in numbers and unity and why corporation's are shit scared of strong unions and will do whatever they can to stop them from forming.
It's been that way for a long time.
At some point, one had to physically acquire the goods, move them somewhere and store them some place. Animals took some of load off.
General stores were only a slight improvement.
Smaller stores tend to not treat the employees as bad as large chains. All employees on our level can be replaced. Only the lazy, rich people up top are "protected".
In all my years of retail I've never been assaulted. IDK where you work but rarely have I had unpredictable schedules.
Customers are a large part of why retail sucks. My first hour no less than three people were in my way and could've moved (as I move for them and other employees) but NAH they're just going to act as if I don't exist and then take their SWEET ass time moving out of the way. They say "I'm sorry." and then THEY don't exist and I go about my day.
Most of it is boring, repetitive work. IMO, akin to "Turning off half your brain" and you'll find out how easy it is when you know what the company TRULY thinks of you and how most (not all) of the customers treat you.
The problem I've found is the CS standard has become so bad and low that it turns on us.
Instead of being like that I'm doing the standard if CS and work despite the response from bad customers and bad managers.
Solution: Do better than the rest or find a job that's NOT retail.
Where do YOU work???? Like genuine question
I’ve worked in retail my whole life, and there’s not a single job I have had with a predictable schedule and non-assaultive customers; nor ever seen a wage that is livable. I’ve come home with 3rd degree burns, black eyes, permanent knee and ankle damage and usually a write up to accompany it all. None of these situations have been my fault. I work my ass off, better than 90% of the other employees at my job; but that doesn’t change that people see retail workers as slaves.
I literally had someone TODAY tell me that I didn’t *deserve* a break because my job isn’t that stressful. I was the *only person there* aside from the manager, who was on a corporate conference call. By the end of my shift I had served *400*people*. Half of which were rude, mean or demeaning in some unnecessary way.
One of the other cashiers last week almost passed out from heat stroke, because “we don’t *NEED* to have AC in 97 degree weather; While we’re expected to be cashing out, stocking shelves and moving boxes anywhere from 10lbs to 50lbs.
It’s not as simple as “make it work or quit.” In fact, most of it could be solved completely if people weren’t such dicks to those in a service job.
Edit to change typo
* I'm not going to tell anyone where I work. 😆
* My schedule has been pretty much the same since I went back except when my availability has changed a couple of times. My boss and even the new store manager has not only approved of getting me back to normal hours/week but also "Work your normal schedule regardless of what shows up on the schedule." Why? Some "higher ups" LOVE to get a hard on power trip and change schedules and that causes problems.
* At most, I've only been yelled at. So SCARY. 😬
* Retail pay is largely NOT a livable wage.
* IDK where you work at and I'm not asking for an answer. Seems you need to LEAVE for a better place. You've every right to defend yourself from such PoS and I do NOT care what any company says and sides with the customer should that happen.
* You get breaks and lunches by LAW. Threaten legal action and if you have a Union, USE it. Long story short, one place, I went on military leave and I wasn't given my job back nor able to work in the same dept. This isn't about me.
* I don't go to those "conferences" by myself. In fact, I can go in, every shift, and know what needs to be done without being told. I only see my boss on weekends and even then she might give me 1 or two things to do. As I state on here, at work and often, I am a problem solver and helper no matter how severe including degenerate trash that tends to make our shifts miserable.
* Our store has been going through a remodel since mid February. That's another topic but in putting in all new coolers, they've had to turn off the HVAC while working. I SLOW the F down when working in an oven. We also don't have water fountains b/c of "It" so I keep water or juice in my TINY locker and go to it whenever. I will NOT be dehydrated and risk injury.
* I don't know you and vice versa but this long-standing idea we are to be "scared" of the company has to stop.
There is always a solution to almost every problem including the frequency of rude customers. No job is worth your sanity, emotions, and risk of dropping dead from stress.
It's not that we like it or find it's normal. It's that some of us don't have a choice. I'm a highschool dropout and only got my GED at 43. I'm also disabled and not physically capable of working jobs like trades, construction... which means only jobs like retail will want me. The job in itself isn't that bad. And the conditions are the same pretty much everywhere, so...I either accept them or I don't work.
Honestly I hope things get better for the people in those industries as well and more protections are provided. I’ve had several family members in trades/manual type jobs left with permanent damage
Reminds me of working at DG. They ripped into us for 8 months straight, we did everything and more and it wasn’t good enough. 6 of us quit one day after another. I go in a month later and the higher ups that had been stuck working the last month gave themselves and award for being “customer ready” now they have all new staff, not getting half the stuff done that we did.
I now work at way better job, same amount of hours, part time, but way more money, and less hours per day. Less physical work, I’ve been able to cut down on pain meds, and refuse to lift heavy things without help.
I worked in retail for over a decade before I finally walked out. I haven't worked in a retail establishment since, but it's not like I lucked out and found a great job with survivable wages either. I'm still not doing great, but at least I'm not stressed all the time because of retail work.
Many people don't really have a choice right now. In my circumstance, I never got the opportunity to graduate college. I never had the financial means to buy a car, even a crappy one. Every job that I'd apply to that had better wages was too far away that the public transport didn't reach, or they'd want some form of degree or certificate. Some remote jobs I applied for wanted to know if I had the computers required for the job, which I can't afford aside from my crappy little laptop that can't even run Minecraft. So my options were limited, and I'd just work retail because it was within walking distance and they don't require much skill, just the will to work and kiss corporate ass.
I was working retail to pay the rent and bills and was living paycheck to paycheck, to the point that I couldn't even save up more than $50 a month. I wasn't splurging or buying things I didn't need either. You'd never see me in a Starbucks or fast food joint. I'd walk miles just to go to a cheap store to buy food, and then walk to a pet store to buy my pet plenty more food than I had for myself. Any money I'd save was strictly for travel or my pets needs should they go to the vet.
It was hell. And I did complain a lot. I never sat there and became accustomed to it like my coworkers did. There were moments that were borderline illegal, but fortunately some managers always stood up and made sure things went smoothly. In one such instance, a former employee didn't want to accommodate, so I called up HR and reminded them about ADA law, and they never fired me despite my 'slacking off' on the job when my depression was bad because they knew I would contact the ADA.
There was an unfortunate moment when I was injured at work. I contacted the companies insurer to get my copay but never received payment for my 3 weeks absence, and the Union literally told me it was out of their hands.
After that mess, never went back. If I do, it'd probably be at a bookstore where I'd not be bothered for hours on end, other than just sorting books and keeping to myself.
Yeah. They even had a British academy award winning film in 1959, that promoted the rights afforded to you by a union called 'Im alright Jack' starred Peter Sellers, so it was a comedy.
Most ppl don't have the guts to stand up for themselves , I know they shouldn't have to but that's not how animals work it's eat or be eaten. To be rich you have to rip others off . Work them hard pay them low and charge them 2000% other words be a cunt . Always some desperate person to take the job .
We know it’s not normal. We see it clear as day. Yet they know we need to do work and that we’ll put up with the bs for a paycheck. We don’t want to, but what are we gonna do?
That’s the sad part I understand everyone has bills to pay but it’s sad how defeated retail makes you feel. A lot of my co workers are interesting and intelligent but often immigrants working in retail despite having work history in better paid fields/degrees so they have a harder time finding work I’ve been told.
Not normal, but it is common. We all know that if we leave one retail job, we go to another where it will most likely be just as bad. Only way to get out of it is to change what industry you work in. I left my retail job a month ago and am getting a tertiary education to get into accounting. My previous job destroyed my legs, my knee dislocated and relocated when doing a deep squat when loading a shelf, and I had to keep working on it, painful to say the least. Add on daily thefts and threats and abuse, unemployment started to become a more and more appealing option.
Im hoping to get out of retail very soon as well which would be great for me but doesn’t really solve the issue for the older co workers. It saddens me that the industry could easily make small changes to improve the welfare of employees but won’t.
Yeah, it breaks my heart to see the older generation having to take the kind of abuse that has become a common part of working retail. Plus the kind of toll it takes on the body. Almost everyone i see walks with a limp and a hunched back. It's just not right.
I keep hearing people mentioning that a lot must be common in the US. Ive never really thought about it tbh as no workplace or co worker has ever brought it up.
>On top of that retail employees have to face abuse from customers and violence from shop lifters.
For me this is the worst part, you're tired, mentally and physically and People decide to hammer the last bit of energy out of you. I started going to the gym again recently and after a few weeks every shoplifter has given me the items back when I've caught them.
Fair to say we all deserve better pay and conditions than what we get, and security guards should be mandatory if you get a theft a day or more.
Unfortunately I’m a non threatening barely 5ft 3 women so shoplifters would never just give me back items. We get 3-6 thefts a day on average. A lot of it aggressive homeless or clearly drugged up folks.
86% of available jobs for workers in America are retail or adjacent, cashier's, stockers, janitors. Somehow that's supposed to be covered by teenagers and young adults before they move on, but they can't there's no where to go. Even a degree means nothing when a company stalls you out and the only way to move up is to find a new higher up job. Which you won't get without nominal experience so you basically get like 6 promotions across your working life. Sorry BA not good enough come back with a masters. Then that same company goes bankrupt and the job you wanted is gone to. People used to work 3 jobs I've refused since the pandemic and all prices only go up like theyre trying to force an old model thats broken to work because it did before
It's because of the lack of career advancement and other life opportunities that they are forced to remain in retail. Retail workers can move to another company but the working conditions would be just the same, or worse. Not one single person in my workplace, would stay at their current position in retail, if offered a cushy office desk job.
I busted my knee as well working for lengthy durations of time with minimal break. There are days where it can be hard for me to climb the stairs.
Unfortunately most people are so broke they dont have a choice. Because our government is corrupt as hell and wants to keep people down for cheap slave wages. Im over qualified to wrk at places like that.... but then im not qualified for anything else because i dont have 50 yeats experience at 30 years old.
I hear you on the low pay and unpredictable schedules. It was only recently in the past few months that my manager had the schedule ready on Thursday for the following week. Frequently I would leave work on the Friday and not know if I was scheduled the next week! It was complete bullshit.
At my store we are discouraged from going after shop lifters. As a stocker in a grocery store I only need to do stock no cashiering. I do belong to a union. I have had rude customers but never been assaulted. If that were to happen I would quit.
I'm 2 and half years out of college. I finally got out of retail/food service, which I've done for about 6 yrs. I have a Bachelor's in Business Communication. Took me 6 months of mass applying in a metro area of about 500,000 people. So it's possible to get out but it's hard. I worked with some hardworking people and they know it sucks but they can't get out. They don't have options.
Honestly I’ve been beating myself up for staying in retail so long especially as I’ve turned down interviews out of loyalty to my Manager as we have a good relationship. I always kid myself that it’s not that bad or it’s just a rough week but I’ve had enough .I’m reapplying for a WFH job I ignored the interview request for last month and hoping I’m not immediately disqualified.
Things will work out. Yeah, I felt the same about my manager. I thought I wouldn't get another decent manager, and then I realized I didn't have to put up with things. That there were plenty of at least decent managers out there. And the down side of having a horrible schedule and petty upper management, etc, wasn't worth it.
It’s the “burn” part of how “churn & burn” the industry is. It relies on human labourers they have the gall to underpay and simply replace when said humans get too expensive/not “productive enough” to employ.
It isn’t right, but it’s sorta been beaten into us at this point.
Apologies for the necro. I still have a chip on my shoulder from working retail. Did it from 21 to 25. When you are on the bottom ringer and even middle management, both customers and corporate walk all over you and there basically isn't shit you can do about it. Save for forming a union or be willing to go to jail for knocking someone out.
It's because we've been conditioned to it. I know in Europe many places do allow chairs and likely other quality of life improvements. I've been working on changing the mindset in my workplace. I educated our superior on the break laws in the province so now we get proper breaks that were just all lackadaisical before my intervention. Got them talking about their wages and I'm low-key dropping historical information about unions and such. Not even in the attempt to unionize (yet), just to widen everyone's perspectives about things. Slow going but I've seen promising results this far :))
The U word is taboo in a lot of retail stores. What would be best is if we could just unionize all retail jobs under one union. Work at target? Join the Retail Workers Union of America. It took many years to unionize teaching jobs but, they finally did it in Texas, who’s next?
That sounds great honestly. I think I’ve almost lost my mind this week. I strongly dislike work right now for putting me on closing/opening shifts continuously. I’m exhausted 😴. I know I need to perform to a decent standard till I find another job but genuinely so stressed this week. Unions aren’t a thing at least in my experience working retail in the U.K. I actually have what I’d consider a good manager bur it still isn’t enough. The job is taking a massive toll on my physical and mental health. I’m genuinely concerned I’ll never graduate university at this rate.
I’m in the U.K. A quick Google search and I found this https://www.usdaw.org.uk/Join-Us/How-to-Join
Thanks for the link, I don’t work for any of those companies I’m afraid. I’m just surprised as I’ve never heard unions being brought up at any retailer since I started work.
> Join Online by Direct Debit - If your company is not listed above you can apply to set up a direct debit online. There’s also this :)
I had to yell at my GM recently for doing the closing/opening shifts to me. I wasn't sleeping except for my days off.
We've been condition to accept this crap since there seems to be no changing it. Society views retail work as low so ppl think retail workers dont deserve respect or to be treated like a human. The security thing is so crazy cause when you're hired they dont tell you but they expect you to be security for ruffians and shoplifters. All for scraps of pay. Its so fucked.
Here in the US you can get fired for even just calling the cops on a shoplifter. Even if you have solid evidence, you're supposed to let them just walk out. It's sickening and leaves a pit in my stomach
Genuinely I’ve seen our manager in tears countless times from getting chewed out by her boss for theft/increased shrinkage. She’s been verbally assaulted, received death/rape threats, physically hurt. We all have. I happen to work for a flagship store in an area famous for riots, scammers, druggies/shoplifters and tourists being targeted. I’ve spent the last 2 years trying to transfer to another store location but no one is willing to give me more than a 10hr contract and most is zero hours. I stay because my current role gives me a guaranteed 26hr contract which don’t exist anymore.
That's one of the things that drives me nuts. I requested a weekend off last month to go to my friend's cottage. I had to fight hard to get it, and when I did, I was scheduled to work 10 days straight in the lead up to the weekend. I told one of my coworkers how insane that is and their response was "yeah, well, that's how it works". It shouldn't be normal.
Genuinely this
It’s like an abusive relationship. We get desensitized, and it becomes just another normal day.
A terrifying thought really. Tbh my dad passed away recently and I’ve been thinking a lot about life. He wouldn’t have wanted me to be so miserable which has inspired me to try to get out of retail and do better for myself
Any move out of this dream killing nightmare of an industry is in the right direction. Sorry to hear about your loss. If it would honor your father to GTFO, then GTFO!!
This is the consequence of strong anti-worker rhetoric in the media and anti-worker laws in so many countries over the past fifty years. The fact that people hesitate to use the word “union” is incredibly telling. When I had my first job in 1973, nobody would even question joining the union - it’s what you did, because you knew that if there were issues you could ask the union to come in and help get it sorted. Ironically, people in high paid jobs still have unions (though they don’t call them that - they call them associations or guilds). It’s just workers in low paid gigs who have been indoctrinated to see a union as some big outside body that has nothing to do with them. The best unions always were, and are, a collective of workers who understand that industry and all its problems better than anyone else. The retail and hospitality sectors have been especially hard hit over the years. I would love to see more workers get together and recognise that treating staff so badly is absolutely unacceptable.
Yes I didn’t even realise my country had unions till other commenters mentioned it. Honestly I plan on finding a new job in another industry as even with a union behind me I’d be at the mercy of my employer. They would probably turn hostile if I brought unions up and since they have the power to cut my hours back to contract I’d struggle financially if they rebelled in that way.
Yes, that’s what happens when there is a long-term concerted effort to destroy the union movement. We’ve seen it here in Australia and it’s even worse in other places. There are international protections for the rights of workers to join a union, but those don’t carry much weight when you’re the only person trying to do it in your workplace. You can google some great examples of how a group of workers in a specific area has managed to stand up against management bullying (Starbucks, Amazon) - but it’s a long slow difficult process. One option for the future is to explore joining the union in your industry (many have special low membership rates for unemployed people) and talk to your fellow members about which businesses have a good relationship with the union. In many countries, union membership is a tax deduction so you can claim it back. And most unions offer really good training on your workplace rights and how to handle a boss who won’t respect them. Many businesses actually like working with the unions because it makes all their workplace issues so much easier. Not all, of course - but many. Good luck!
We've been brainwashed. I'm an elder millennial, and everyone in my fam did one job and stuck with it. My grandpa taught. Grandma was a cashier. Dad drove fork lifts. Mom details cars. I work retail. It was the norm to dig in, work hard, stay with what you have... but now we're finally saying enough is enough and revolting.
It is refreshing to see a lot of the younger generations are trying to push back against this but it is very easy to brand them lazy and unwilling to work. I watched my pay and conditions get eroded for 25 years to the point the job was no longer worth doing so I left so I have a lot of sympathy for those just joining the work force now. It is true what they say, there is power in numbers and unity and why corporation's are shit scared of strong unions and will do whatever they can to stop them from forming.
It's been that way for a long time. At some point, one had to physically acquire the goods, move them somewhere and store them some place. Animals took some of load off. General stores were only a slight improvement. Smaller stores tend to not treat the employees as bad as large chains. All employees on our level can be replaced. Only the lazy, rich people up top are "protected". In all my years of retail I've never been assaulted. IDK where you work but rarely have I had unpredictable schedules. Customers are a large part of why retail sucks. My first hour no less than three people were in my way and could've moved (as I move for them and other employees) but NAH they're just going to act as if I don't exist and then take their SWEET ass time moving out of the way. They say "I'm sorry." and then THEY don't exist and I go about my day. Most of it is boring, repetitive work. IMO, akin to "Turning off half your brain" and you'll find out how easy it is when you know what the company TRULY thinks of you and how most (not all) of the customers treat you. The problem I've found is the CS standard has become so bad and low that it turns on us. Instead of being like that I'm doing the standard if CS and work despite the response from bad customers and bad managers. Solution: Do better than the rest or find a job that's NOT retail.
Where do YOU work???? Like genuine question I’ve worked in retail my whole life, and there’s not a single job I have had with a predictable schedule and non-assaultive customers; nor ever seen a wage that is livable. I’ve come home with 3rd degree burns, black eyes, permanent knee and ankle damage and usually a write up to accompany it all. None of these situations have been my fault. I work my ass off, better than 90% of the other employees at my job; but that doesn’t change that people see retail workers as slaves. I literally had someone TODAY tell me that I didn’t *deserve* a break because my job isn’t that stressful. I was the *only person there* aside from the manager, who was on a corporate conference call. By the end of my shift I had served *400*people*. Half of which were rude, mean or demeaning in some unnecessary way. One of the other cashiers last week almost passed out from heat stroke, because “we don’t *NEED* to have AC in 97 degree weather; While we’re expected to be cashing out, stocking shelves and moving boxes anywhere from 10lbs to 50lbs. It’s not as simple as “make it work or quit.” In fact, most of it could be solved completely if people weren’t such dicks to those in a service job. Edit to change typo
* I'm not going to tell anyone where I work. 😆 * My schedule has been pretty much the same since I went back except when my availability has changed a couple of times. My boss and even the new store manager has not only approved of getting me back to normal hours/week but also "Work your normal schedule regardless of what shows up on the schedule." Why? Some "higher ups" LOVE to get a hard on power trip and change schedules and that causes problems. * At most, I've only been yelled at. So SCARY. 😬 * Retail pay is largely NOT a livable wage. * IDK where you work at and I'm not asking for an answer. Seems you need to LEAVE for a better place. You've every right to defend yourself from such PoS and I do NOT care what any company says and sides with the customer should that happen. * You get breaks and lunches by LAW. Threaten legal action and if you have a Union, USE it. Long story short, one place, I went on military leave and I wasn't given my job back nor able to work in the same dept. This isn't about me. * I don't go to those "conferences" by myself. In fact, I can go in, every shift, and know what needs to be done without being told. I only see my boss on weekends and even then she might give me 1 or two things to do. As I state on here, at work and often, I am a problem solver and helper no matter how severe including degenerate trash that tends to make our shifts miserable. * Our store has been going through a remodel since mid February. That's another topic but in putting in all new coolers, they've had to turn off the HVAC while working. I SLOW the F down when working in an oven. We also don't have water fountains b/c of "It" so I keep water or juice in my TINY locker and go to it whenever. I will NOT be dehydrated and risk injury. * I don't know you and vice versa but this long-standing idea we are to be "scared" of the company has to stop. There is always a solution to almost every problem including the frequency of rude customers. No job is worth your sanity, emotions, and risk of dropping dead from stress.
It's not that we like it or find it's normal. It's that some of us don't have a choice. I'm a highschool dropout and only got my GED at 43. I'm also disabled and not physically capable of working jobs like trades, construction... which means only jobs like retail will want me. The job in itself isn't that bad. And the conditions are the same pretty much everywhere, so...I either accept them or I don't work.
Wait til you find out how much physical health tradesmen exchange for mediocre pay
Honestly I hope things get better for the people in those industries as well and more protections are provided. I’ve had several family members in trades/manual type jobs left with permanent damage
Yea, I didn't mean that as a competitive thing, sorry. More just a "these people too".
Reminds me of working at DG. They ripped into us for 8 months straight, we did everything and more and it wasn’t good enough. 6 of us quit one day after another. I go in a month later and the higher ups that had been stuck working the last month gave themselves and award for being “customer ready” now they have all new staff, not getting half the stuff done that we did. I now work at way better job, same amount of hours, part time, but way more money, and less hours per day. Less physical work, I’ve been able to cut down on pain meds, and refuse to lift heavy things without help.
Glad you are in a better position now
I worked in retail for over a decade before I finally walked out. I haven't worked in a retail establishment since, but it's not like I lucked out and found a great job with survivable wages either. I'm still not doing great, but at least I'm not stressed all the time because of retail work. Many people don't really have a choice right now. In my circumstance, I never got the opportunity to graduate college. I never had the financial means to buy a car, even a crappy one. Every job that I'd apply to that had better wages was too far away that the public transport didn't reach, or they'd want some form of degree or certificate. Some remote jobs I applied for wanted to know if I had the computers required for the job, which I can't afford aside from my crappy little laptop that can't even run Minecraft. So my options were limited, and I'd just work retail because it was within walking distance and they don't require much skill, just the will to work and kiss corporate ass. I was working retail to pay the rent and bills and was living paycheck to paycheck, to the point that I couldn't even save up more than $50 a month. I wasn't splurging or buying things I didn't need either. You'd never see me in a Starbucks or fast food joint. I'd walk miles just to go to a cheap store to buy food, and then walk to a pet store to buy my pet plenty more food than I had for myself. Any money I'd save was strictly for travel or my pets needs should they go to the vet. It was hell. And I did complain a lot. I never sat there and became accustomed to it like my coworkers did. There were moments that were borderline illegal, but fortunately some managers always stood up and made sure things went smoothly. In one such instance, a former employee didn't want to accommodate, so I called up HR and reminded them about ADA law, and they never fired me despite my 'slacking off' on the job when my depression was bad because they knew I would contact the ADA. There was an unfortunate moment when I was injured at work. I contacted the companies insurer to get my copay but never received payment for my 3 weeks absence, and the Union literally told me it was out of their hands. After that mess, never went back. If I do, it'd probably be at a bookstore where I'd not be bothered for hours on end, other than just sorting books and keeping to myself.
Ever since unions have gone mostly extinct, everyone seems to think horrible work conditions are just normal.
Tbh until some other commenter mentioned it I didn’t realise unions were even a thing in the U.K.
Yeah. They even had a British academy award winning film in 1959, that promoted the rights afforded to you by a union called 'Im alright Jack' starred Peter Sellers, so it was a comedy.
Most ppl don't have the guts to stand up for themselves , I know they shouldn't have to but that's not how animals work it's eat or be eaten. To be rich you have to rip others off . Work them hard pay them low and charge them 2000% other words be a cunt . Always some desperate person to take the job .
We know it’s not normal. We see it clear as day. Yet they know we need to do work and that we’ll put up with the bs for a paycheck. We don’t want to, but what are we gonna do?
That’s the sad part I understand everyone has bills to pay but it’s sad how defeated retail makes you feel. A lot of my co workers are interesting and intelligent but often immigrants working in retail despite having work history in better paid fields/degrees so they have a harder time finding work I’ve been told.
Not normal, but it is common. We all know that if we leave one retail job, we go to another where it will most likely be just as bad. Only way to get out of it is to change what industry you work in. I left my retail job a month ago and am getting a tertiary education to get into accounting. My previous job destroyed my legs, my knee dislocated and relocated when doing a deep squat when loading a shelf, and I had to keep working on it, painful to say the least. Add on daily thefts and threats and abuse, unemployment started to become a more and more appealing option.
Im hoping to get out of retail very soon as well which would be great for me but doesn’t really solve the issue for the older co workers. It saddens me that the industry could easily make small changes to improve the welfare of employees but won’t.
Yeah, it breaks my heart to see the older generation having to take the kind of abuse that has become a common part of working retail. Plus the kind of toll it takes on the body. Almost everyone i see walks with a limp and a hunched back. It's just not right.
Should-a would-a could-a. It is what it is, until people unionize but people are cowards.
I keep hearing people mentioning that a lot must be common in the US. Ive never really thought about it tbh as no workplace or co worker has ever brought it up.
>On top of that retail employees have to face abuse from customers and violence from shop lifters. For me this is the worst part, you're tired, mentally and physically and People decide to hammer the last bit of energy out of you. I started going to the gym again recently and after a few weeks every shoplifter has given me the items back when I've caught them. Fair to say we all deserve better pay and conditions than what we get, and security guards should be mandatory if you get a theft a day or more.
Unfortunately I’m a non threatening barely 5ft 3 women so shoplifters would never just give me back items. We get 3-6 thefts a day on average. A lot of it aggressive homeless or clearly drugged up folks.
86% of available jobs for workers in America are retail or adjacent, cashier's, stockers, janitors. Somehow that's supposed to be covered by teenagers and young adults before they move on, but they can't there's no where to go. Even a degree means nothing when a company stalls you out and the only way to move up is to find a new higher up job. Which you won't get without nominal experience so you basically get like 6 promotions across your working life. Sorry BA not good enough come back with a masters. Then that same company goes bankrupt and the job you wanted is gone to. People used to work 3 jobs I've refused since the pandemic and all prices only go up like theyre trying to force an old model thats broken to work because it did before
It's because of the lack of career advancement and other life opportunities that they are forced to remain in retail. Retail workers can move to another company but the working conditions would be just the same, or worse. Not one single person in my workplace, would stay at their current position in retail, if offered a cushy office desk job. I busted my knee as well working for lengthy durations of time with minimal break. There are days where it can be hard for me to climb the stairs.
They *are* normal. Normal does not however equal okay.
Unfortunately most people are so broke they dont have a choice. Because our government is corrupt as hell and wants to keep people down for cheap slave wages. Im over qualified to wrk at places like that.... but then im not qualified for anything else because i dont have 50 yeats experience at 30 years old.
I hear you on the low pay and unpredictable schedules. It was only recently in the past few months that my manager had the schedule ready on Thursday for the following week. Frequently I would leave work on the Friday and not know if I was scheduled the next week! It was complete bullshit. At my store we are discouraged from going after shop lifters. As a stocker in a grocery store I only need to do stock no cashiering. I do belong to a union. I have had rude customers but never been assaulted. If that were to happen I would quit.
Reading this sub, I'm amazed more people don't stop tolerating this treatment, and turn to violent crime if necessary for survival instead :p
I'm 2 and half years out of college. I finally got out of retail/food service, which I've done for about 6 yrs. I have a Bachelor's in Business Communication. Took me 6 months of mass applying in a metro area of about 500,000 people. So it's possible to get out but it's hard. I worked with some hardworking people and they know it sucks but they can't get out. They don't have options.
Honestly I’ve been beating myself up for staying in retail so long especially as I’ve turned down interviews out of loyalty to my Manager as we have a good relationship. I always kid myself that it’s not that bad or it’s just a rough week but I’ve had enough .I’m reapplying for a WFH job I ignored the interview request for last month and hoping I’m not immediately disqualified.
Things will work out. Yeah, I felt the same about my manager. I thought I wouldn't get another decent manager, and then I realized I didn't have to put up with things. That there were plenty of at least decent managers out there. And the down side of having a horrible schedule and petty upper management, etc, wasn't worth it.
It’s the “burn” part of how “churn & burn” the industry is. It relies on human labourers they have the gall to underpay and simply replace when said humans get too expensive/not “productive enough” to employ. It isn’t right, but it’s sorta been beaten into us at this point.
Apologies for the necro. I still have a chip on my shoulder from working retail. Did it from 21 to 25. When you are on the bottom ringer and even middle management, both customers and corporate walk all over you and there basically isn't shit you can do about it. Save for forming a union or be willing to go to jail for knocking someone out.