Recruitment

One in five retail workers plan to quit the industry

Most of those intending to leave the sector blame their finances, abuse from customers, and deteriorating mental health.

More than 20% of British retail workers are planning to quit the sector, according to a new report. The Retail Trust’s survey of more than 1,500 retail staff, published within its new Health of Retail report, found that most of those intending to leave blame concerns around their finances, rising levels of abuse from customers, and deteriorating mental health coming out of the pandemic.

More than 80% said they have experienced a decline in their mental health in the last year, with retail workers aged between aged 16 and 29, those working in distribution and warehouses, and employees of larger retailers found to be struggling the most.

In addition, 85% of retail managers reported an increase in mental health problems among their teams, and 54% said team members have experienced issues that they felt ill-equipped to deal with. A quarter of retail managers say they also want to leave the industry.

The Retail Trust has also joined forces with Microsoft, WorkL, BJSS, Ascent and Incremental to interrogate and analyse a wide range of Retail Trust and industry data on wellbeing in retail. They discovered:

● Retail workers aged 16-29 are the unhappiest.

● Female retail workers are unhappier than male retail workers.

● Male retail workers are less likely to reach out in a crisis and could require earlier intervention from their employers as a result.

Prioritising the well-being of employees and retail managers specifically will have a big impact on a retailer’s commercial performance.

Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive of the Retail Trust, said: “We believe the retail industry is committed to improving workplace wellbeing but our research shows there’s a clear gap between how retailers think their employees are feeling and the reality.”

He added: “This poses a serious long-term challenge as more and more people turn away from the sector. The retail industry must foster a happy and healthy workforce to attract and retain the talent it needs to survive and thrive.”