Staggering figures show that more than half of UK retail workers have experienced stress, burnout or depression directly linked to their jobs. This is set to intensify as ‘Super Saturday’ (21st December) approaches, widely predicted to be the busiest in-store shopping day of the year.
Alarmingly, in a study of 3,000 UK frontline workers, 33% say that their work-related stress is triggered by their income not covering the cost of living.
The data was gathered for The State of the Frontline Workforce 2024 Report,*. The company, which works with major retail brands across the globe, showed that 61% had experienced work-related stress, 53% had depression, 51% had burnout, and 32% disclosed they had at least one panic attack due to their job.
Workplace mental health psychotherapist, Leanne Alston, says the sharp increase in demand on Super Saturday can lead to increased problems for staff: “There are high expectations for retail workers to be helpful, polite and pleasant, which can become more challenging with the increased footfall at Christmas time.
“The workload is higher and there are more opportunities for mistakes, which inevitably fall to the worker to resolve. Their job is ultimately harder but the expectations of them remain the same.”
With Government plans to hike National Insurance contributions for employers, leading British retail giants have warned job losses are inevitable in the retail sector, which will do little to ease the stress of those retail workers whose income does not cover their cost of living.
Further warnings about staff welfare come as abuse of retail workers is on the rise. Trade body the British Retail Consortium revealed there were ‘on average’ 1,300 incidents of abuse faced by retail staff every day last year, which included verbal assaults, racial slurs, physical assaults and even threats with weapons.
Toma Pagojute, Chief HR Officer at Quinyx says: “The festive season is a vital economic period for the retail sector, but with increased footfall, especially on major trading days such as Super Saturday, there are consequences for frontline workers.
“It is really important that we prioritise the welfare of the three million people that support this £100 billion industry.
“These figures are a stark insight into the reality that staff face every day and show the direct effect of work. When you factor in non-work-related mental health concerns the statistics will be even higher.
“We’re urging industry leaders to have honest conversations with managers to ensure they have the tools needed to address working practices which may be negatively impacting the mental health of staff.
“By implementing effective scheduling tools, managers and organisations can more adequately plan breaks, manage shift swaps and keep the lines of communication open to staff and encourage honest feedback.”
*Provided by Quinyx
