The UK’s retail sector is facing a significant wellbeing emergency, figures suggest, with nearly half of retail employees working while unwell and an increasing number contemplating leaving their jobs.
Data from a new Retail People Index by the charity Retail Trust shows that 46% of retail staff worked despite having physical or mental health conditions at the end of 2024, marking a 5% increase from the previous year.
The phenomenon, known as presenteeism, reached its highest level since the inception of the Retail People Index 18 months prior. And overall wellbeing scores among retail workers dropped to their lowest point during the same period.
Financial Strain Amplifying Mental Health Challenges
The financial hardships faced by retail employees have intensified, with the Retail Trust providing £878,935 in financial aid in 2024, up from £664,349 in 2023. Notably, requests for assistance to pay for food tripled by the end of the year, reflecting the severe economic pressures on workers.
Retail Trust
The impact of declining wellbeing is not uniform across all demographics, the data show. Employees aged 35 to 54 experienced a significant rise in presenteeism, increasing from 41% to 53% in the last quarter of 2024.
Additionally, shop floor workers reported lower happiness levels compared to their head office counterparts, and men in non-managerial roles exhibited a higher propensity to quit than women in similar positions.
Leadership Insights and Calls for Action
Retail Trust chief executive Chris Brook-Carter pointed to the main factors contributing to the growing problem.
“The festive period always brings added pressures for retail workers but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people suffering last Christmas compared to the year before,” he said in comments provided to Workplace Wellbeing Professional. “We must put some of this down to the economic uncertainty facing the country and retail jobs in particular following the tax rises announced in last autumn’s Budget.”
He said it “remain[ed] to be seen whether wellbeing will improve this spring, as it did last year, or if insecurities around jobs, finances and the political climate will continue to take their toll on employees’ physical and mental health”.
Brook-Carter added that it was “clear that employers need to ensure staff have the right resources and reassurance to recover and rebuild their resilience following a difficult autumn and winter”.
Laura Bond of consulting firm AlixPartners said retail operations were battling pressures on several fronts.
“Retailers are facing into a perfect storm, with squeezed discretionary consumer spending, higher business rates, rising National Insurance contributions and a rise in the national minimum wage all either continuing or about to bite,” she said.
Bond said this was “creating is a key contributor to the decline in confidence of the people that work within retail” and that was therefore affecting company performance.
“In the wake of the Government’s Spring Statement, business leaders have an opportunity to address uncertainty felt across the industry and engage with their teams. Employee engagement has never been more vital for those looking to drive retention, and in turn, growth and greater resilience.”
Strategies for Enhancing Employee Wellbeing
Addressing the issue requires comprehensive strategies, workplace experts advise, including:
- Flexible Work Arrangements: Implementing adaptable schedules and remote work options to improve work-life balance.
- Mental Health Support: Providing access to counselling services and mental health resources to assist employees in managing stress.
- Workload Management: Ensuring workloads are reasonable and setting achievable performance targets to prevent employee burnout.
- Training and Development: Offering professional development opportunities to enhance job satisfaction and equip employees with stress management skills.
The Retail Trust supports retail workers through its wellbeing helpline, counselling services and financial aid programmes, collaborating with over 200 retail employers to prioritise staff mental health.