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A perfect storm of economic turbulence, job security fears and mounting work pressures are hitting retail colleagues like never before, says the Retail Trust’s Chris Brook-Carter
It seems many in our sector were unable to escape the pressures of last autumn and winter.
Retail’s busiest period, the high cost of living, and the threat of new taxes announced in the autumn budget left a huge number of our colleagues feeling unhappy and unwell.
The Retail Trust and AlixPartners’ latest Retail People Index found almost half of retail staff were working while unwell in the last three months of 2024, the highest levels of presenteeism we’ve seen since we began tracking wellbeing across our industry 18 months earlier. Overall wellbeing levels also dropped to an 18-month low and there was a huge spike in the number of people looking to leave their retail jobs.
Meanwhile, three times more workers had reached out to the Retail Trust for help to pay for food by the end of last year than in 2023.
The Retail People Index is compiled in partnership with our data provider WorkL using thousands of responses from UK retail employees on the issues that are affecting rates of wellbeing, flight risk and presenteeism, so the industry can better respond to their needs.
We already knew that retailers grappling with higher National Insurance contributions, minimum wage rises and a reduction in business rates relief have been facing tough decisions around staffing and overheads since the Budget. Now we can begin to see the impact this is having on employees, with growing threats of redundancies alongside escalating household costs leaving more people feeling burned out, anxious and undervalued.
We must be prepared to balance any short-term savings against the cost of poorer staff mental health
At the same time, analysis of job advertisements published by Retail Week shows the financial pressure on retail employers is also causing some to cut workplace benefits by as much as 60%. Understandable when profit margins are squeezed and businesses are having to scrutinise every expense, but we must be prepared to balance any short-term savings against the cost of poorer staff mental health.
This is estimated to be as much as £51bn a year for UK employers, as happier and healthier teams are more likely to be engaged and productive and less likely to be absent from work or leave their jobs. And anything that risks damaging morale and wellbeing will also have an impact on a company’s bottom line.
That’s why, last year, the Retail Trust launched a new generative AI-powered happiness dashboard to show how much initiatives to improve mental health save a business, by calculating the financial value of fewer staff calling in sick, working while unwell or quitting their jobs.
There is no sustainable future for retail without the resilience of our people
Even without data and insight tools like this, the Retail People Index’s findings have made it clear we cannot afford to turn our back on staff wellbeing.
It is right to be concerned about the challenges facing our sector, but there is no sustainable future for retail without the resilience of our people. By ensuring they feel safe and valued, and by placing as much focus on their mental health as we do on profit margins, our industry can emerge stronger, more agile and better prepared.
Looking ahead, spring is traditionally a time of renewal and hope, and our Index did show an improvement in colleague wellbeing this time last year.
But with so many challenges still on the horizon, we can’t be complacent.
It is vital that retail leaders double down on supporting the people who will power their businesses through the rest of the year, making sure they have the reassurance, resources and training to handle the months ahead.
