A record-breaking exodus of retail workers is persisting. How long will it last?

Thanks for reading The Hustle, a newsletter that highlights the most insightful commentary on LinkedIn related to frontline workers and the issues that matter to them most. Quotes below may be edited for clarity.?

During an 18-month period that has seen the labor market repeatedly breaking negative records, like job losses and weekly unemployment insurance claims, April marked an occasion on which an unexpected milestone was reached.

That was when 4 million workers, including 629,000 retail employees, were estimated to have quit their jobs, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department. Both numbers were the highest ever recorded in their respective categories since the department began keeping such records in 2000.

It wouldn’t take long for the latter to be broken again.]

In June, about 632,000 retail workers quit their jobs, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The survey is released by the department every month — specifically through its Bureau of Labor Statistics — and reveals its findings on a two-month lag. That means that when the next JOLTS survey is released next week, on September 8, it will share data that reflects job turnover in July.?

Ahead of that release, I asked retail workers on LinkedIn to share whether they expected their peers to continue quitting jobs at a record pace. Here’s what they had to say in comments shared in The Break Room, the forum for retail and customer service workers on LinkedIn.

The outlook for retail

“As a retail manager of 20 years I have experienced the highest turnover rate ever in 2021,” a Virginia-based store leader wrote. “Potential new hires are younger and most are chasing the highest offer. I have had a couple that I invested in and had potential to grow with us only to leave for $3 more an hour as a hostess at a restaurant. I don’t see the trend ending in 2021, but hoping 2022 brings a more reliant, loyal workforce.”

Another forum member offered her view from the U.K.?

“I think the problem lies with the consumer in this one-click, get-it-now culture,” she wrote. “When they do go out face to face shopping their expectations are very high and they have very little patience. I have worked in retail and customer service for 30 years. I can honestly say that these last few years have been the worst ever.?

“I go home thinking why was that person so rude and aggressive? Is it the pandemic, is it society's acceptance of terrible behaviour? Is it our employers’ fault as they have pandered to the customers’ every whim?”

In what was one of the most “liked” comments in the group, another manager highlighted the alternative job options retail workers may be lured towards.

“Retailers’ expectations do not match the pay,” he wrote. “They want in many cases the employees to have open availability, work every weekend, do more work with less people in the store leading to unrealistic expectations and a stressed out and unhappy staff. Then, throw in the added stress of customers who have gotten more aggressive and rude towards employees and it’s not an ideal work environment for $10-$12 an hour. These same people can work for Amazon and make $15 and have a schedule that fits their needs or even be a contractor and deliver for amazon, shop Instacart, or drive for Uber. Retail needs to evolve beyond the pay but I am just not sure how.”

For more conversations about retail and customer service work, join The Break Room forum on LinkedIn.

What’s next for the gig economy?

Speaking of driving for Uber, one of the most notable stories of the past two weeks came out of California, where a judge ruled Proposition 22 unconstitutional. “Prop 22” was the ballot measure approved by Californians in November 2020, and gave app-based services like Uber and Lyft the ability to consider gig workers as independent contractors.

On LinkedIn, this news prompted a reconsideration of the age old question: Should rideshare drivers be considered independent contractors, or employees?

One driver provided a unique view in favor of independent contractor status.?

“I'm a disabled veteran and have taken a more holistic approach with my health,” she wrote. “I have a lot of medical appointments and a lot of things I do to maintain my mental health in at least a non-suicidal status. I went through vocation rehab AND a veteran job search service and found absolutely nothing that would be flexible enough for me. Uber and Lyft have given my life some stability and security that I need. I cannot work a regular job or full time hours. I do have some disability income with the VA but it was not enough to keep me housed — I lived out of my car for a period before I started Uber and Lyft. Uber and Lyft allow me to work.”

Other drivers also provided a defense of independent contractor status, but with a critique of how Uber and Lyft conduct business with workers.?

“I would like to see us stay as independent contractors because that's why we do this,” an Oregon-based driver wrote. “That said, as independent contractors, we should have absolute say in what we are charging for rides and deliveries AND what percentage is paid to Uber and Lyft. I've been a full time Uber driver for almost 3 years and have Uber dictate what is paid to me as I am covering all costs. Also, we need to be able to see what is being charged to the rider as well. As I've seen, there have been discrepancies between what we are told the riders pay and what they are actually paying.”

To read more members’ opinions about the Prop 22 ruling, read: “Gig work ruling divides opinion”

The end of expanded benefits

Since March 2020, when Congress first responded to the raging pandemic with trillions of dollars in relief spending, the federal government has been providing funding that allowed states to add hundreds to the weekly payments that unemployment insurance (UI) beneficiaries received.?

The federal government’s funding also allowed states to widen the pool of eligible recipients, extending the benefits to gig workers and others who otherwise would not be able to access UI. This weekend, the government’s expansion of UI finally comes to an end.

That end comes as weekly UI claims have decreased to a pandemic low, but also as the U.S. grows jobs at a pace much slower than expected. In a post, I asked members to share their thoughts on the timing of the benefit’s end, which was decided in March. The opinions varied greatly, so much so that there were people who never received expanded UI that remained proponents of the program, and others who actually received the benefit and still critiqued it.?

One New Jersey-based bank employee suggested that by making workers less desperate to take low pay, UI helped improve the job environment for all workers.

“Even though I’ve been working both my jobs throughout this whole thing, the fact that a large swath of the workforce is no longer held hostage in exploited, underpaid, and abusive positions has improved pay and workplace conditions across the board,” he wrote. “It's nice to not be treated as expendable for a change.”

On the opposite side of that sentiment, a New York-based dental receptionist said she benefited from UI’s expansion, but feels it’s too easy to exploit the system.

“I too was on [UI] when COVID first hit, but as soon as our workplace opened back up, I went off the unemployment and went back to work,” she wrote. “Here in upstate New York, almost every business is hiring. There are signs all over, but someone on unemployment only has to make an attempt to get a job, and then they are rewarded with the weekly unemployment and the extra $300 in weekly federal assistance. Where I work we have been trying to hire a dental assistant. Here is what happens; we call the individual to come in for an interview, they accept and then do not show.”

To see more comments from LinkedIn members about the expiration of expanded UI benefits, click here, and share your thoughts on this edition of The Hustle in the comments below.