Worked in retail for awhile. Got promoted to lower rung management. Saw the writing on the wall and positioned myself repeatedly in front of my team and simultaneously out of the way of blame when shit hit. Lost three front end leads in four months, each the most experienced. Didn’t get asked a single question.

Course I was the one who reassured them that they could do better, asked them why they were still working there when they were clearly unhappy, gave them extra breaks when they felt overwhelmed, and reported dumb shit from corporate when it affected them, even if Upper didn’t want to say anything. Like the hour cuts and hiring freeze, typical of retail.

My team was the most efficient and well organized. I taught each of them how to handle and de-escalate situations, and what to actually look out for with respect to fraud and scams. They knew they could call me for any issue and tried like hell to handle it themselves. Other team leads came to me rather than go to another manager. This isn’t me being amazing, tbh I felt it was because I followed through on things, not because I was any better than anyone. If you say you’ll do something, keep that word.

If there is even a single person in a position of leadership reading this I hope you take note. A business cannot run without a strong and enabled team. It might walk, it will not run. We ALL know you can pay more and treat people better, so fucking do it.