There is a silent army of uniformed people that we meet and see almost every day and they just kind of lurk in the shadows and goes unnoticed. This army I speak of are the workers of the retail world. I will not mention any company names, but everyone reading this has met with many retail employees in their lifetime. The workers of retail are among the unsung in America, and the world today. Retail is an area where the young and the old work side by side. Retail employment is where the young start their first job and it is also where many that are retired begin their last job. Odds are that you too used to work in retail or work there now. Retail is a place where the unprepared spend too many years of their life.
Retail workers endure a life that many shun. This is evident by the high turnover rate in the retail sector. An example of this would be any retail store of your choice. You see an article in your local newspaper that the Big Box Corporation purchased some land and are going to build a huge store just a few blocks away. One day the cinder blocks go up and as you drive by it everyday it gets that much closer to the grand opening. You see a sign or a newspaper article trumpeting to the world that they will be hiring soon. The article in your local paper will announce that xxx# of jobs will be added to your community. Then the big day arrives and it is time to open up your new neighborhood megaplex, bigbox store.
Grand opening is kind of a weird day when you really know what is going on, at the employee level. When a retail store has its big opening day there are a mixed lot of folks wearing the company vest or apron. Most of the employees will be new hires and a few seasoned veterans transferred into the mixture. There will also be employees from other area stores blended in to ensure every customer is impressed with the high level of service. Grand opening day is a day that never really lasts long enough.
Soon after the first few days the helpers from other stores return to their home store. Soon the customer count has settled down and the sales slack off a tad bit. It will not take too long for the grand opening euphoria to wear off and inner store personalities start to conflict. Managers and hourly employees alike settle into the daily grind and that grind begins to take toll. The erratic schedule of retail begins to mess with people's lives until some individuals begin to realize that their retail job has become their life. In retail there are no sacred Sundays and surely not many holidays where the retail doors do not open. This endless demand on your personal calendar becomes a main area of contention in the retail workers personal life. In less than six months the grand opening is over, the budget profit requirements, the store is understaffed, customers become angry and the turnover rate among employees is hovering in the 40 to 50 percent range. Within 12 months of the opening many retail stores have experienced a turn over rate in excess of 70 percent. If you were to project that turn over rate for 36 months the rate has a habit of exceeding 90 percent.
So the next time you walk down the aisles of your local, understaffed big box retail store, be aware of that employee who shuffles past you. Chances are that person is enduring a job that will make most people quit and do something else.
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