Black Friday will be a boon for many retailers, but it can also be a hectic affair for those working in the sector. New research and latest headlines point to the darker side of Black Friday.
A new piece of research suggests that almost half (43 per cent) of retail employees fear work knocks mental well-being. This negative impact is easily exacerbated during the festive season with long hours, constant rush and customers clamouring for bargains being just a few of the factors that can lead to employee burnout.
But how can retailers overcome some of the biggest challenges and support their employees during this busy shopping period?
Dean Forbes, CEO at CoreHR,  comments,
With PwC predicting over £5 billion in sales, Black Friday will be a boon for many retailers, but it can also be a hectic affair for those working in the sector. New research suggests that almost half of retail employees fear work knocks mental well-being. This negative impact is easily exacerbated during the festive season with long hours, constant rush and customers clamouring for bargains being just a few of the factors that can lead to employee burnout.
Smarter HR and rostering technologies can help retailers schedule employees more fairly and effectively by catering for a diverse range of preferences and offering workers more choice and flexibility over how they work. The ability to swap shifts via mobile, for example, means employees can more easily manage their own rosters on-the-go and saves managers the time taken to sort cover at short notice.
Meanwhile, at Amazon, nine days of Black Friday sale could be thrown into chaos on Friday as staff stage protests outside UK five warehouses. Union GMB have said protests in Rugeley, Milton Keynes, Warrington, Peterborough and Swansea could put Friday’s entire sales event at risk – which is typically it’s biggest day of the year profit-wise.
GMB general secretary Tim Roache, said,
The conditions our members at Amazon are working under are frankly inhumane We’re standing up and saying enough is enough, these are people making Amazon its money. People with kids, homes, bills to pay — they’re not robots. You’d think making the workplace safer so people aren’t carted out of the warehouse in an ambulance is in everyone’s interest, but Amazon seemingly have no will to get round the table with us as the union representing hundreds of their staff.
