Some retailers may have eliminated hazard pay, but the threat of COVID-19 is far from over and frontline workers are feeling the pressure.
Fifty-five percent of retail workers are feeling more stressed during the crisis, 60 percent report having higher levels of anxiety and 53 percent greater frustration, according to the findings of a new survey by TollFreeForwarding.com shared with RetailWire.
The length of the crisis and the associated pressures are also affecting retail workers’ job performance. Thirty-one say it has affected the quality of their work, 42 percent cite less motivation and 48 percent report having sleep issues.
Workers need and are looking for more support from their employers, with many expecting to see even more demands placed on them as the Christmas selling season approaches. Retailers are looking to spread out the crowds of people in stores by beginning holiday promotions next month. This may help in one respect, but many believe the workload will be shifted to store-level workers engaged in fulfilling online orders and those laboring in warehouses, struggling to keep pace with potentially record levels of purchases made by consumers.
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that workers in online fulfillment warehouses have seen conditions on the job deteriorate as they try to keep up with demands.
“We see it every year: When demand increases, so does the pressure on warehouse workers,” Beth Gutelius, associate director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the Post. “This year, many workers are already operating at elevated levels because of the pandemic. Then you layer the holiday peak season on top of that, along with a surge of new hires, and there are real questions about worker safety.”
Amazon.com is expected to run its annual Prime Day promotion next month and many others are likely to have competing events. Sales generated in last year’s 48-hour promotion exceeded Amazon’s combined sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Research from Coresight Research recently found that one-third of Americans are expecting to make purchases on Prime Day this year. Twenty-five percent expect to do the same on Cyber Monday and 16 percent will purchase something on Black Friday.
