The Real Reasons Retail Is Losing Good People
By Caitlin McDonald
Retail doesn’t just have a burnout problem. It has a truth problem.
People aren’t leaving because they can’t handle the work. They’re leaving because the pressure from the top doesn’t match the support they receive. They’re being asked to fix problems they didn’t create, absorb the anger of customers who have forgotten how to behave and stay loyal to businesses that promise growth but can’t deliver it.
The result is an industry full of exhausted but capable people who still care deeply but are running out of trust.
Burnout Isn’t About Hours. It’s About Helplessness.
Most burnout in retail isn’t caused by long hours. It is caused by a lack of control.
Store Managers and their teams are often held accountable for results they can’t fully influence. When a new collection underperforms or pricing changes don’t land with customers the question is usually “What’s the store doing wrong?” instead of “Did we get the range, timing or pricing right?”
That question alone shows where the disconnect sits. It assumes the problem begins and ends with the store, when in reality, success depends on so many other factors. It overlooks product, marketing, design, buying and supply chain. It ignores economic conditions and customer confidence.
The truth is, most store teams are doing everything they can with what they are given. They are the ones adapting on the ground, making the calls in real-time and keeping customers engaged even when products or promotions miss the mark. When those same teams are blamed for decisions made far above them, it chips away at their trust in leadership.
Burnout doesn’t come from hard work. It comes from giving your best effort again and again without seeing impact or appreciation. It comes from carrying responsibility without control and being expected to deliver outcomes that were never realistic in the first place.
Abuse Should Never Be Part of the Job
On top of that pressure, retail workers across Australia are facing more customer abuse than ever before.
Every week, store teams deal with verbal aggression, entitlement, and sometimes physical intimidation from people who know they are in the wrong but still believe that yelling will get them what they want. It has become so common that people now call it “part of the job”.
It shouldn’t be.
Would you accept someone walking into your office, yelling at you, taking things from your desk and demanding you fix a problem they caused? Of course not. Yet in retail, that is a daily reality.
This kind of behaviour does more than ruin someone’s day. It builds chronic fatigue and emotional strain. It takes away the sense of safety and pride that makes people want to show up. When that level of emotional pressure is combined with constant business targets, it becomes a perfect storm for burnout.
Store teams are resilient, but they are also human. They are expected to deliver high sales and service standards while managing the unpredictable emotions of customers who may be angry before they even walk through the door. They do it with patience and professionalism, but it is not sustainable without consistent support.
This is where leadership visibility makes a real difference. When leaders show up, listen and help their teams navigate difficult moments, people feel supported instead of abandoned. They know they are not expected to absorb it all alone. A single visit, a phone call, or even an acknowledgement from leadership can change how supported a team feels after a tough day.
Visibility and Support Need to Flow Both Ways
There are incredible Area and Regional Managers out there doing exactly that. They are visible, hands-on and invested in their people. They coach, listen and make sure their store teams know they are not alone. Those leaders are the ones keeping their teams engaged and loyal.
But right now, visibility and communication need to go deeper than ever before. Retail is more complex than it has been in years. Store teams are managing slower trade, changes in consumer spending, stock shortages, operational pressure and tighter margins. They don’t need more scrutiny or targets. They need leadership that listens, understands and helps carry the weight.
That support has to move in both directions. Area and Regional Managers can’t give their best if they are also under pressure with limited support from above. Many are caught between head office expectations and store realities, trying to keep both sides happy. They need the same understanding and backing that stores need from them.
It is a chain of support that only works when every link is strong. When each level of leadership genuinely listens to the next, trust builds from the top down and from the bottom up.
- A Store Manager who feels heard becomes a more confident leader
- A Regional Manager who feels trusted spends more time on the floor mentoring instead of reporting
- A Head Office team that takes feedback seriously gains insight that can improve strategy
That is how connection and performance grow together.
The Problem With False Hope
Another reason retail is losing great people is because too many are being sold a story that simply isn’t true.
Brands are using career progression as a recruitment hook. They tell candidates about endless opportunities or clear pathways to Area Management knowing those roles don’t actually exist. There is one Area Manager role for every ten stores and one Regional or State Manager role for every twenty or so. Those numbers don’t lie.
It might get someone to sign a contract, but it will not keep them. You will lose them within a year, and when they leave it won’t be because they didn’t love the job. It will be because they stopped believing the people above them and someone else was honest and transparent with them.
Retailers are more informed than ever, stop disrespecting them by promising the impossible. They see when no one is moving above them. They notice when every internal promotion is frozen or promised “in the next 6 months”. When they realise they were sold a dream that was never realistic the disappointment cuts deep.
If you are a brand that does this, you are part of the problem. You are not only breaking trust, you are driving passionate and capable retailers out of an industry where they deserve to shine.
Progression doesn’t always have to mean promotion. It can mean skill building, exposure or new challenges. But honesty has to come first. Selling false hope isn’t leadership. It is short-term thinking that destroys trust and costs businesses the very people they can’t afford to lose.
Accountability Should Be Shared Not Shifted
When performance slips, too many companies look to the shop floor first. It’s a habit the industry can’t seem to shake.
But is a Store Manager and their team really responsible for a poor range or product selection, a missed trend or a price increase customers aren’t willing to pay? Of course not. Sales results are influenced by a long list of decisions made above the store level. Yet when results fall short, it’s usually the store teams who are questioned first.
That kind of culture creates resentment. People start to disengage not because they don’t care but because they stop feeling seen. The strongest retailers are the ones that share accountability. They review product, strategy, pricing and leadership together, not separately. They understand that success and failure are collective.
When stores are supported instead of blamed, performance improves naturally. When leadership owns its part of the outcome, everyone feels safer to take responsibility for theirs.
Fixing What’s Broken
If retail wants to stop losing good people, it doesn’t need another wellbeing campaign or campfire song. It needs honesty, fairness and visible leadership.
1. Protect your people. Customer abuse is not part of the job. Create policies that protect staff and enforce them consistently.
2. Get visible. Leadership presence matters. Be in stores to listen and understand, not to inspect.
3. Be honest about growth. Don’t sell promotion pathways that don’t exist. Build real development within the roles people already have.
4. Share responsibility. Stop treating store results as an isolated problem. Success and failure belong to everyone.
5. Hire potential, not perfection. Support people, develop them properly and give them time to succeed.
Retail has always been built on connection. Between people and customers. Between stores and the head office. Between what’s said and what’s done.
Burnout isn’t the real issue. Disconnection is. Fix that, and retail will start winning its people back one leader, one store and one honest conversation at a time.