Is working in a supermarket stressful?

[Joanna1988124]

Apart from the minimum wage element. Is the job itself stressful or is it the kind of job you just do your hours and then can relax and not think about it until your next shift?

I worked in a supermarket during uni and often fantasise about chucking in my current and going back to a supermarket job for less stress...

@Jenjenn 😂 funnily enough I’m the same

Customers can be arseholes, you have be ‘on’ for hours as a customer services representative.

Yes, its stressful. There are customers.

Most are fine, but you get that one entitled moron and your day will be ruined.

The current climate is one where people feel they are allowed to treat supermarket workers (and most other service staff) like crap means I would never go back to retail (or hospitality).

I loved it. If you get your head down and work then it's not stressful. Customers can be arses yes but you can laugh about the batshit ones with your colleagues.

If I could afford and was able bodied enough, I think I'd pack in and try get my job back on the checkouts or better still the petrol station..I loved that.

Yes it's a horrible job.
Some customers are areseholes, targets are high and most of the staff spend their time demoralised and stressed out.
I thought it would be a low stress job, it's not!

I suppose it depends on the supermarket too.. dp used to work at a different one than me and he hated it

Yep working in retail is shit, ive left after losing 20 years of my life to it!!!
However, you learn to put a poker face on and to be honest the majority of the customers are nice, but you see the best and worst of society......and you do get to go home and leave work at work.
It probably depends on what are of the supermarket youre working in - customer service desk is always a hassle!

No.

Not in comparison with say, call centre work anyway.

I enjoyed it tbh. I mean, unless your boss is an asshole it's usually pretty easy going.

The general public have always treated supermarket staff poorly, this has got exponentially worse since the pandemic kicked off.

I would rethink it if you think it is a mindless chilling job. There are still targets to be met and being at the behest of an overworked, wildly stressed manager can be very unpleasant.

I worked at Sainsburys for a few months when I was 40, just two shifts a week.

I don’t remember it being stressful as such, except when they timed you to check that you were putting through enough items per minute. I think the target was 22 items a minute. The first one I aced it - over 40 items. The second not so good - they had alcohol and it wasted seconds getting the security top off. The third I failed miserably - the customer had clothes ( tags to take off) yellow sticker items which didnt scan - not a chance. I left because they were going to take disciplnary action because I failed the time test and missed two shifts as I was ill. You were only ‘allowed’ to be ill once a year.
I found the working conditions to be the most stressful thing about it, and the customers who expected you to be know all 200,000 stock lines in the shop.
I also found it incredibly boring. I’d do it again if I had to, but not out of choice.

I think it'll always be loads less stressful to do any job if you're doing it for extra cash rather than to survive - I think a lot of people think retail is a really easy job because they used to mess about in their Saturday job in their teens, but it really isn't the same.

I left a high paid, very pressured career after burning out and decided to get a part time job at a well known discount supermarket while I recovered (they pay better than minimum wage!).

I love my job. Yes some customers are arseholes but as long as you've got a sense of humour it's fine! It's very easy work, albeit busy, but it's varied, the shifts go by so quickly and I enjoy that it's more physical than mental.

A large part of it is down to my colleagues- it's like a family. Everyone is down to earth, whereas I was used to working with ego-maniacs. It's a breath of fresh air. And management are great, too. Recently I needed time off to attend a personal issue - they couldn't have been more supportive, and hours are totally flexible.

Give it a go!

It’s busy and physical, but not stressful, no.

I've recently started on the night shift, stacking shelves. No customer interaction required. It's pretty much non stop, doing reductions and putting out stock, and there is always pressure to work faster. But no need to think about any of it out of hours other than working out how best to catch up on sleep.
Similar experience to TrevorNeverDidThat, I left a much better paid job due to the stress of dealing with deeply unpleasant people, and find my new colleagues much better to work with. And I've got staff discount at Waitrose and John Lewis.

I did the twilight shift in Saintsburys for a few years when my kids were little. I wasn't on the tills, I was putting stock out. I liked the customers and my colleagues. I felt that it was a good honest physical job. It didn't keep me awake worrying but it wasn't stress free. There waa a certain amount of pressure involved in getting it all done which wasn't always possible. But on the whole it was good

My DH is a manager in a supermarket and he has times when it’s hugely stressful. It has got worse over time.

A lot of it depends on your personality, I think. Some people (like me) can find elements of any job stressful.

I used to work in a supermarket. I worked in different roles but loved the checkout most. It was quite meditative listening to the beep beep, as you scanned items! Very low stress. Lovely.

I was an accountant for over 30 years, retired and became bored so got a job in a supermarket.
I loved my job but customers 😬 - I had to listen to their problems, call an ambulance when they collapsed, deal with them pissed, actually do the shopping for some, carry out bags for others, watch their kids because they couldn't be arsed, call taxis for them, listen to them moan about prices, know the ingredients for whatever it was they were going to cook, be a wine expert - the demands and entitlement went on and on.
Talk about all human life is here!

Not stressful no, but it can be very boring!

I’ve been in stores within the same company where I’ve thought “I’d love to work here” and others where I’ve thought “not a chance.” You can get a feel for whether the colleagues are stressed out or whether they’re enjoying it pretty quickly.

Management is hugely stressful - I generally think how good/happy a store is hugely dependent on how they cope with it! It gets stressful when they muck your shifts about, move you from task to task before you can finish etc

Customers can be a nightmare, but it can be really rewarding as well. A trainer I worked with always told store colleagues to remember they would be the only person that some of their customers would interact with that day, so you had a big chance to make their day a bit better.

I worked in a shop for 3 years and didn't find it stressful. A bit boring sometimes but easy, didn't take any work home with me, most of the customers were fine. Certainly much easier than teaching which I did for the subsequent 3 years.

I've worked in Sainsbury's and Waitrose. In Sainsbury's I worked on the self scan often on my own and busy times e.g. pre Christmas Saturdays, were very stressful. Worse than the customer service desk. As a pp said the rules were particularly inflexible.
I found Waitrose much more relaxed and enjoyed my time there working on the checkouts. For the most part the customers were polite and friendly.

General floor staff will have crap elements but not stress as such - management however is another story altogether!