The past two years have been a whirlwind and, for some people, involved big changes to their everyday lives. Many have been forced to take time away from their jobs as businesses had to close their doors. This led people to reevaluate their job roles and identify whether or not they were genuinely happy with their career or whether it was merely a means to an end.
Many employees quit before even returning to work after being furloughed. Others soon realised they had a better quality of life outside of work. This en masse quitting is now referred to as ‘The Great Resignation’, and some employers still feel its effects a year later.
So, what exactly leads someone to leave their job so suddenly and with so much certainty? The sector that has been the most affected by mass resignation is retail. Notorious for being poorly paid and sometimes even traumatic for its employees, retail job roles are now being vacated and are almost impossible to fill.
We will discuss some of the most popular reasons people have quit their retail jobs and what makes retail work so bad. Warning, some of these aren’t pretty!
What Makes Working In Retail So Bad?
From ruthless customers to poor store management, there are many hurdles retail employees must face in their day-to-day work. Unfortunately for many, these challenges are not worth their impact on mental health.
1. Rude Clientele
Everyone has likely had a run-in with an unpleasant client, customer, or member of the public at some point. The ‘Karen’ trend has gained popularity on social media for this reason. Not that we have anything against Karens! However, retail workers appear to be unfairly subjected to this. Many customers take out frustrations at store policies on the individual serving. It’s never a pleasant experience for employees!
2. Money
Pay is one of the most common reasons people leave their jobs. The retail sector is one of the worst offenders for not paying its employees a wage that reflects the work they are doing. Employees are likely to be working at maximum for a minimum wage and paid hourly rather than a salary.
3. Lack of Training
Training staff costs money, and unfortunately, this can lead to some workplaces cutting corners when it comes to training their employees. This is particularly bad if attrition rates are high. However, this is actually counterintuitive because untrained staff typically find their job role harder and are more inclined to resign.
4. Management
In many cases, the employee doesn’t want to leave the company. They want to get away from their boss! Poor management can have a significant impact on day-to-day enjoyment in the workplace. Overbearing and micromanaging leadership techniques can negatively influence an employee’s job experience.
5. Work Schedule
One of the things nine to five workers may take for granted is schedule predictability. Retail workers often don’t know what their working week will look like until just a few days before it starts! This can make it extremely difficult and frustrating to organise things like social obligations, childcare, and healthcare appointments.
3 Common Reasons for Employee Resignation
Every employee’s reason for leaving their job is personal to their situation. However, some reasons are more common than others. We’ve already discussed some of the difficult factors of the job. Here are the top three reasons retail staff will refuse to stick it out!
1. Competitive Pay Rates
If you can get paid more for doing the same job elsewhere, why wouldn’t you? This is often the case in retail. There are so many different employers out there that they often compete with one another to hire staff. Better working hours and a slightly better wage all have the power to make someone look elsewhere.
2. Students/Young Employees
Retail jobs are an excellent option for young people studying. They offer part-time employment and the ability to work evenings and weekends. However, hiring students means they will inevitably leave. They are likely to be studying for a particular career path, and once their studies are complete, they will begin to look for jobs related to that.
3. No Career Progression
It is natural to want to build on a career. It keeps people driven, passionate, and above all else, actually interested in their job! If an employee feels they’ve got all they will ever get out of their role, the flame will soon die out.
These employees left their jobs… and we don’t blame them!
For every ten positive job experiences, there is always one bad one. It’s inevitable. But, we can’t help but feel that some of these situations should have never happened, and the employees did the right thing by resigning. We wish them all the best in their new job roles!1. Favouritism At Its Worst
Employee favouritism is highly unprofessional, mainly when your favourite staff member is stealing from the till! In this employee’s case, they were wrongly accused of stealing and almost lost their job. When it was later discovered to be the boss’ favourite employee, they were quick to turn a blind eye.
2. Robbed At Gunpoint!
Staff safety should always be a top priority. This pizza shop employee had to endure two armed robberies while on shift. The situation escalated so much they were actually shot at, and the bullet narrowly missed! We are glad they are okay and got out of that job safely.
3. You’re Paying Them How Much?
Imagine being in your current role for several years, and the company hires a new team member. You are then asked to train this new employee and find out they are being paid more than you for the same job. This person went to their employee to complain and was told they weren’t worth a pay rise! Needless to say, they soon left.
4. Down Right Discrimination
Women face a lot of challenges in the workplace. This one female, in particular, asked for some assistance during pregnancy because her doctor had deemed her high risk. Her manager refused her any help. They then suggested that she be demoted if she could no longer fulfill her job role!
5. Where’s the Duty Of Care?
This poor employee asked to leave one day because they felt unwell. Their boss said no, and they suffered a pulmonary embolism in the middle of their shift! Thankfully, they made a full recovery, but this is a lesson for employers to always take care of their staff.
