Celebrate them
Retail workers are resilient people. They’re creative, full of gumption and always looking for solutions to problems. Filled with empathy, they’re some of the most valuable people during the run-up to Christmas but they don’t often feel this way.
When stress runs high and they’re on the receiving end of flustered customers or area managers with targets to hit, they can get run down and overwhelmed. Show them how much they’re valued by celebrating what they do.
There aren’t many people who can claim working on the checkout, finding lost orders, digging out the last must-have item in the stock room for a desperate customer, replenishing stock and keeping the store tidy all in a day’s work.
Show them how valuable they are and how important what they do is by reminding them of everything they give day-to-day in and out of the retail environment.
Give them a break
Help the retail worker in your life to take a break. Do things for them at home or run errands for them in the build up to Christmas. Because while everyone else is out and about, doing their Christmas shopping, they’re working all those hours serving people with no time for themselves.
Running them a warm bubble bath after a long day on their feet is a wonderful way to help them make time for themselves. Or making them breakfast before they head off to work.
Retail work at Christmas is stressful, so if you can find small ways to take some of the burden off their shoulders, it will go a long way.
Go for a calm Christmas
By the time retail workers get to Christmas, a lot of them are sick of the sight of anything to do with the festivities. With stores getting ready for Christmas during September and October, with a lot of planning taking place even earlier than this, Christmas can lose its shine by the time it arrives.
Creating a calm environment for them, that’s not filled with frantic Christmas energy is the best antidote to help them wind down for Christmas when everyone else is winding up to the big day.
Removing any high expectations for Christmas Day, going slower and keeping things small and local will help. Long journeys to see family and late nights are probably the last thing they want right now.
Make the time count
Blink and you’ll miss a retail worker’s time off during Christmas. With Boxing Day sales providing no let-up from the pace of the holiday season, retail workers don’t get much time to wind down. When it feels like everyone else is taking holiday, or has an extended period off from work, retail workers are doing the opposite.
If you only have one day with the retail worker in your life, then make it count. Try to be as understanding as possible if all they want to do is sit and rest. You can make that time off special by trying a new routine. Having a ready-made Christmas dinner or going out for dinner, or having a lie in with Christmas dinner planned for the evening may just help take the edge off.
Creating new Christmas routines will help make that small amount of time together special, and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the shops.
This Christmas, let’s hear it for the people who keep everything moving so that everyone else can enjoy it. From everyone at Worldpack, we wish you and your family a very merry Christmas!
