Unlivable conditions, meager compensation, unpredictable hours, and zero advancement opportunities fuel the sharp spike of quitting retail workers across the country.
While American workers are quitting their jobs in droves to pursue better opportunities, the retail industry continues to supersede any other sector in this resignation crusade.
A tremendous-and still increasing-350,000 retail workers put in their notice in May-the industry’s largest one-month exodus since the Labor Department began tracking such data more than 20 years ago. As the nation recovers from the pandemic and individuals enthusiastically make changes to provide better lives for themselves, the competition rises-and retailers must acknowledge this change.
Wage Slave Business?
While never livable or sustainable jobs to begin with, post pandemic exhaustion combined with an empowered job market continues to motivate retail workers to send in their resignations. However, arguments both advocating and scrutinizing the future survival of retail businesses pinpoints and highlights their structural problems.
Commonly, this sector sees issues relating to those in demoralization methods. Incompetent managers abusing their leadership roles, rude customers creating scenes to intimidate workers, extremely high turnover rates implying employees are only a number, and much, much more demonstrates the relationship between retail work and wage slavery.
Purposeful scheduling methods demanding both weekday and weekend availability while providing little notice forces employees to skip personal life events. Furthermore, in attempts to avoid providing benefits of any kind, many retail employees will regularly find their set schedule encompassing hours just shy of “full time.”
To perform damage control to retain and fill open positions, retail businesses must quickly take necessary steps in improvement. However, a habitual play on ignorance defers change of any sort in this industry.
Resistant to Change:
In order to keep up with demand and attract workers for their businesses, retailers must begin to focus on stable schedules, safer working conditions and benefits like paid sick leave and vacation time. Other service industries including restaurants, salons, and gyms have made the decision to offer their employees better pay and benefits. Additionally, sectors like real estate, banking and insurance are also providing higher incentives in their hiring process in anticipation of renewed demand. Further refusal of retail companies to acknowledge cultural change further creates negative perception and unfavorable persona.
As the current job market encourages Americans to find more valuable positions with higher pay, the upcoming workforce witnesses and resonates with this movement-determining their ideal futures.
While it’s too soon to tell if this trend will continue into the future, a sluggish approach to shifting inadequate business models in effort to retain talent will further steer you off track.
What does this mean for you?
If you’re a retail business experiencing post pandemic demand without sufficient help, it’s time to reassess your employment model. More than likely, retail normalities-both favorable and unfavorable-have contributed to the manner in which you conduct business. While not all bad, the movement away from retail work highly suggests a modernized update.
If you’re a business in a sector similar to retail-primarily in the service industry, you may be feeling similar effects. The truth is, many businesses are working to fill voids within their company as they struggle to effectively bounce back from the days of the pandemic. The solutions to your widely felt issues relate to those outlined for retail businesses. Promises of a structured schedule, respectable pay, and a healthier work environment will attract employees and set you apart from the rest.
Implementing effective methods of improvement while considering the most logical course of action requires educated second opinions. In this case, we can help. Whether you’re a retail business or another struggling company searching for reliable individuals to join your team, we provide quality recruitment services. Contact us today to see why we’re the leading industry experts in business advisory and how our solutions can provide immense opportunity for your company.