Why manager burnout should be retail leaders’ #1 priority
Do you see retail managers experiencing brain fog? Or feeling fatigued, overwhelmed and constantly stressed? Are your management teams struggling to meet the demands of frontline workers and retail leadership? You might have a problem with manager burnout鈥攁 workplace reality that鈥檚 rampant on the frontline.
To address manager burnout, it鈥檚 essential to define it, explore the retail management experience and the elements contributing to it and then investigate how it鈥檚 impacting not only the associates but the business by hearing real-world insights from managers who are living through it.
What is manager burnout?
Manager burnout is a lot more than feeling a bit tired at work. The defines burnout as 鈥渁 syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed鈥 and labels burnout as an 鈥渙ccupational phenomenon.鈥
According to WHO, burnout is characterized by three symptoms:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
- Increased mental distance from one鈥檚 job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job;
- A sense of personal ineffectiveness and lack of occupational accomplishment.
With 54% of retail managers revealing that they feel burned out on a daily basis, the people who function as a crucial middle intermediary are in trouble, which has a ripple effect that reaches their direct reports, their lives outside of work and overall mental health.
The retail manager experience: overstretched, burned out and in survival mode
Retail managers have unique skill sets and intense roles. They鈥檙e required to be operationally savvy and business-minded in managing responsibilities like growing footfall, meeting sales targets and preventing shoplifting. They鈥檙e also responsible for managing large teams of associates, each with their own skills and career goals鈥攚hich requires empathy, compassion and first-rate communication skills.
So while retail managers were already keeping multiple balls in the air, the COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of as rules and regulations around temperature checks, opening hours and social distancing became retail鈥檚 new reality for several years.
While the pandemic exacerbated the issue, retail manager burnout was already a growing concern. Why? Let鈥檚 dig into the retail management experience and understand the lofty expectations of this crucial role.
Middle managers: the pivotal go-between
Middle managers function as central touchpoints for all areas of the store. They act as a filter from corporate leaders to associates and share top-down, company-specific information, such as product info, news from HR executives, new launches and cultural changes or initiatives. Retail managers also act as an upward funnel from associates to corporate and are responsible for delivering employee feedback about health and safety concerns, knowledge gaps, best practices and more back up the chain.
Retail managers wear many hats鈥攁nd many of those are intrinsically connected to core business functions. For example, the responsibilities of middle management include overseeing the onboarding of new associates, upskilling and reskilling direct reports to prevent churn, managing operations and ensuring that stores are fully staffed and operational at all times. Talk about a hefty workload.
Managing communication on-shift, off-shift and after hours
The pandemic significantly blurred the line between work and life, and businesses had to adapt quickly and find solutions within fast-changing government guidelines. For deskbound workers, this sometimes meant working from home. But for retail workers, that wasn鈥檛 an option. The retail industry had to figure out how to implement and navigate new processes to ensure shop floors remained not only operational but also compliant.
Communication between retail associates and middle managers became more fractured as businesses scrambled to find new ways of keeping on top of operations. And what started as a stop-gap solution has become commonplace with some managers, like Sarah Jones who works at a global retailer, using personal devices to communicate with employees.
This has added to her stress levels and often prevents any sense of a possible work-life balance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 6:30 am, and you鈥檙e woken up with a text message or phone call. Most of the time, it鈥檚 nothing urgent,鈥 says Sarah. 鈥淏ut if that鈥檚 my day off or you鈥檙e calling me in the middle of the night, I鈥檓 panicked.鈥
While sharing information on personal devices impacts manager burnout, distributing company information on unsanctioned networks also means communication is outside of company control. With no access to reporting or analytics to help address issues as they arise, this creates more work for middle management.
Messaging and communication that鈥檚 delivered through such ad-hoc systems don鈥檛 match the needs of large-scale workforces. When frontline employees receive the bulk of their information from in-person conversations, text messages, phone calls or email鈥攁s research reveals is the case鈥攖his puts the burden on middle managers to distribute and track it all, which takes time away from operational execution and efficiency.
With only 51% of frontline workers feeling in the know about what鈥檚 going on in their organizations, who鈥檚 responsible for leveling up employee knowledge? Again, it鈥檚 the manager. This situation creates a vicious circle where retail managers are under constant pressure to perform in their roles while leading teams and managing the enablement of their workers鈥攚ithout the proper tools and systems in place.
Supporting burned-out retail associates
With ever-widening socioeconomic, cultural, technological and political chasms making people feel more isolated, not to mention tangible threats like violence and natural disasters, the constant stream of mostly-bad news and social media severely and well-being.
Sarah has noticed a recent increase in her retail associates needing more and more emotional support from her. And she鈥檚 admittedly not equipped to properly deal with it all.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of team members think that retail managers are here to solve every issue for them, and that鈥檚 very difficult,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou almost have to be their leader and manager and a life coach. This goes beyond the scope of our role. We鈥檙e not trained counselors, we鈥檙e not mental health professionals. And it鈥檚 really hard because you鈥檝e got your heart saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to see this person struggle,鈥… but you鈥檙e not a professional therapist.鈥
Because as much as Sarah wants to act as the go-to resource for her team, being pulled in so many directions by nearly 20 people takes its toll.
鈥淭his situation adds a whole new dynamic of stress and anxiety. I have my own life to manage鈥擨 can鈥檛 manage the life of 18 other people on my team,鈥 she says.
She regularly refers her direct reports to employee assistance programs and holds consistent one-to-ones to get feedback. But this doesn鈥檛 mean that the burden of managing employee well-being is resolved, and not all retailers have these support systems in place.
鈥淎t the end of the day, you feel like you can鈥檛 turn off because you鈥檙e worried about other people’s issues,鈥 Sarah says.
Her candid insights are echoed by a customer experience manager at a national retailer who cites a lack of training and preparation leading to an increasing sense of unrest.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a blurred line between managers and their roles. We鈥檙e expected to take on roles we鈥檝e never been trained for or that we don鈥檛 really have experience in鈥 so it鈥檚 a bit overwhelming.鈥
Dealing with heightened customer expectations
Not only are employees struggling with burnout, but the customer is also feeling the lasting impacts of a post-pandemic world.
Sarah notes that in her retail store, there鈥檚 been a notable uptick in customer escalations, aggression and people saying whatever they want to employees鈥攁nd indeed incivility is on the rise.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a delicate balance working with the general public because you have a sense of needing a thick skin, but at the time, you鈥檙e not a punching bag.鈥
With customers and employees both needing more assistance, it鈥檚 clear that retail managers are bearing the brunt of a degree of emotional support they鈥檙e ill-equipped to deal with, making them feel overworked and consistently burned out.
How does burnout impact retail managers?
Over the past five years, Google searches for 鈥渟igns of burnout鈥 have increased in the U.S. by , signaling that many concerned people are looking for more information to spot the signs themselves.
According to a story in the , some signs of burnout include when 鈥測ou start not functioning as well, you鈥檙e missing deadlines, you鈥檙e frustrated, you鈥檙e maybe irritable with your colleagues.鈥
For Sarah, she describes her own experience with manager burnout thusly: 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing left in the tank at the end of the day besides staring into the middle distance of a television show you鈥檙e not absorbing鈥 it鈥檚 like your physical and mental quota have been spent.鈥
Manager burnout also impacts the ability to function outside of work and can spill into family life and zap the energy needed to perform basic levels of self-care.
鈥淲hen you get home, it鈥檚 sometimes like, 鈥榃e鈥檝e gotta get takeout tonight鈥 because I don鈥檛 have the strength or brain power to put something in a pan and cook it,鈥 says Sarah.
The business impact of retail manager burnout
Unsurprisingly, manager and employee burnout lead to increased levels of absenteeism, which according to research by , 鈥渘egatively affect sales, transactions and average basket sizes.鈥 But the downsides of manager burnout don鈥檛 end there.
The report also found that 鈥渆mployees’ lateness and absenteeism can “spillover” onto their coworkers, which causes them to stay past their original clock-out times.鈥 This means that manager burnout and absenteeism have a knock-on effect on someone else鈥檚 work-life balance and can even result in employee burnout if it goes too far.
According to our Deskless Report, 39% of managers are looking to leave their jobs, which isn鈥檛 surprising considering all of the stressors associated with their roles as the catch-all intermediaries between corporate and staff.
With customer service being so integral to the success of any retail organization, anything that hinders the ability of managers to come up with creative solutions to challenging customer interactions is a red flag that could lead to lost sales.
鈥淏urnout stops you from being able to give that little bit extra,鈥 says Sarah.
So what happens if all the pivotal intermediaries burn out and quit? Or stop being able to perform highly in their roles due to burnout? How will retailers stay afloat with limited middle management resources?
Retail managers are faced with a triple threat: not only are they expected to act as a funnel and filter for corporate, but customers are demanding greater attention, employees need more emotional support and ineffective communication channels and wrong-fit technologies impact work-life balance.
What happens now? It鈥檚 clear that there is an immediate need to properly address manager burnout with strategies that can mitigate the effects, unburden leaders and prioritize empathetic leadership with strong internal communications, systems and support that can build trust, community and belonging.
But the first step is acknowledging that there鈥檚 a problem and being committed to finding a solution that makes retail managers feel seen and heard.
Names have been changed.