For the majority of people in the US, the holiday season at the end of the year is a time of celebration and joy. From Thanksgiving meals with family to exchanging gifts on the morning of December 25th, the holiday season is a bit intense, a bit stressful, but ultimately worth it. There is, however, a single oft-neglected segment of the population that is not so happy to see it roll around.
Retail workers.
For those of us who work in retail, the advent of the holiday season is not something we look forward to. Instead we brace ourselves with every ounce of fortitude we can muster and plan out every possible day off we can get. Why all the stress for retail workers? Aside from the fact that the average consumer considers retail workers barely above pond scum, the "holiday season" everyone else cherishes so much begins in September.
Yes, you read that right.
A full three months before the actual holiday, stores are getting in supplies for the season. Trees, lights, ornaments, decorations, wrapping paper, and bulk shipments of sometimes random items. What makes it worse is that these items have to start appearing on store shelves by the end of that month. Why?
Retailers seem to think the best way to win against the competition is to get there first.
What makes this unfortunate is that there is some data to support that theory. So in an effort to lock in customers as a "first choice" for holiday shopping, retailers have been sneaking out holiday stuff earlier and earlier. Halloween, my own personal favorite holiday, is almost completely overshadowed by the over-commercialization of Christmas, with stores putting up merchandise in September and playing Christmas music starting on November 1st. Before we even get to Thanksgiving!
And the shopping! Black Friday is the worst day of the year for retail workers. Overly-long shifts combine with short-tempered deal-seekers, intolerable holiday music blaring over store intercoms, lines longer than the buildings were intended to hold, limited bathrooms that are shared between customers and employees alike, an upsurge in shoplifting because store security is as overworked as the employees, and an expectation of insane levels of service. People become unreasonable and demanding, employers ask for more and more, and employees often are scheduled into insane shifts where they're working six days, or back-to-back shifts, forced to cut short their breaks, get called in or called upon even when they do get a day off, and can't ask for vacation because of black-out periods.
What results is a group of cranky, sleep-deprived, burnt out employees being pressured to give more and more of their time and energy to a bunch of equally cranky, equally sleep-deprived, sometimes self-absorbed, needy customers. And if that were not enough, now retailers are opening on Thanksgiving Day for their sales. One of two days of the year retail workers can expect to get off, and in an effort to increase profit margins some stores are doing away with it entirely and forcing employees to give up time with their families to work for minimum wage.
I can already hear hounds braying about how no one is being "forced" to work, and that people in that situation can just quit if they don't like it. To that I say, "Clearly, you've never worked a day of retail in your life." Actually, that's not what I would say. What I would say would be significantly bleeped and end up on a blue reel somewhere. The point, however, should be clear.
Those of us in retail aren't all here because we want to be. Many are here because it was the only job we could get. The downside is that retail becomes a trap that is near-impossible to escape. Even college-educated and with a bachelor's degree in hand, people still have to pay their bills. Once you're employed in retail, it becomes a stain on your resume you can never wash out. Employers for other types of businesses assume you either aren't skilled enough or don't have the training to succeed in their field because you worked retail. And many of those working retail are trapped there because they don't have the training or education to go anywhere else. Telling retail workers to quit if they don't like it is as insulting as saying it to anyone else in any other field of business would be. It shouldn't be so difficult to treat everyone with respect, regardless of where they work.
So what I'm trying to say is that if you want to show support for your fellow human beings, don't shop on Thanksgiving Day. Don't patronize stores that make their workers give up time off to cater to people in the name of profit. And if you don't absolutely need anything on the Friday after Thanksgiving, don't go out.
Whatever deal you're looking at, someone else is paying the price for it.