Remote Work And Quiet Quitting Are Expected To Make Holiday Hiring Difficult For Retailers

The retail industry has high employee turnover rates compared with almost all other industries, which is one of the biggest challenges faced by retail employers. Usually, the holiday season is a busy hiring season for retailers. They face a shortage of workers coupled with higher pay demands of existing workers during the holiday season.

Although the number of job applications for retail jobs is high, it will be somewhat difficult for retail employers to fill all their open positions. With the onset of the pandemic, more and more workers are demanding remote work flexibility, better payment, and more benefits. The tendency of workers to silently resign from unsatisfactory jobs will also be a major hurdle for retail employers.

A majority of American adults are on the lookout for new jobs

The Career Builders Survey 2022 found that 7 out of 10 working adults are on the search for new work opportunities. Out of that number, 62% of workers say that they would like to shift to a different industry. However, a majority of these workers are on the look for new jobs in a casual manner, often willing to discuss new opportunities with employers.

According to the predictions made by the National Federation of Retailers (NRF) for 2022, retail sales are bound to grow by 6% to 8% more than that of 2021. The YoY retail sales have grown by 7% within the first six months of 2022.

The retail industry prepares for the coming holiday season by hiring new employees as early as September to reach their sales projections. However, in recent months the workers’ outlook on their jobs has changed drastically. This is one of the biggest reasons that retailers are finding it harder to retain workers.

Although remote work is an appealing concept, it isn’t feasible for retail store workers

True, during the pandemic many retail shops opted to operate via virtual platforms. However, we are adjusting to the new normal now and shops have opened up their store for physical shopping. Almost 85% of retail sales are transacted in a physical environment, making it impossible for retailers to offer work-from-home flexibility to recruits.

But most American workers got a taste of a large number of benefits of working remotely during the pandemic, and they are not ready to go back to physical jobs yet. Many workers state that they get to save a considerable sum of money and time by WFH that they previously had to spend on commute.

Remote working allowed many companies to hire the best talent from all over the globe to fill their openings. Unfortunately, this benefit evaded the retail industry due to the brick-and-mortar work environment. In July alone, retail employment increased by 22,000 and experts say that this number will further rise in the last quarter of the year.

In 2021, the retail industry voiced plans to hire 500,000 to 665,000 workers for the holiday season. This year, we can expect to see even higher numbers for this.

Quiet Quitting is on the rise among employees in the recent months

Quiet quitting is the phenomenon where workers disengage from work. They do not quit the job but opt to do exactly what the job role specifies. Workers are performing the bare minimum to achieve work goals without going over the top for the company. Although this may seem a disadvantage to employers, it is actually a positive change for the workers.

Quiet quitting is a way for workers to set strict boundaries with their employers to have a better work-life balance. After all, the workers are not slacking off at work, but doing exactly only what they were hired to do. Though this might work best in an office setting, it will create a different atmosphere in a retail work environment. Employers will observe their workers not going above and beyond to solve customer issues. This might adversely affect their chances of getting promoted as well.