Retail workers are quitting at record rates for higher-paying work: ‘My life isn’t worth a dead-end

[NinoBrown]

Retail wages are trash but I think having savings or budget w/ another PT job could help many situations....

If someone is stuck in retail hell, augment the income with a gig job, like Door Dash, Uber, Lyft for a few months to a year, just to build a safety net of a couple bands in the bank and just stack and stack...

 

[Dark Knyght]

Its obviously the wage. Lets take Florida (and my 27 year old cousin) for example. (Since I live here.. even though its worse in other states.) He's works at Best Buy as part of their geek squad for over 7 years now. He makes $17.50hr right now. He's got his own one bedroom apartment, that he pays $1090 a month for. Lets do the math.

$17.50hr x 40 hours gives you $700wk. After taxes (and we're lucky that we dont pay state taxes) he takes home what? $580'ish. Lets multiply that $580 x 4 weeks in a month, and that gives us $2320. You take out the rent and that $2320 becomes a whopping $1230. Car payments $308. That brings his monthly income to $922. Insurance? What.. $100? We're down to $822. Gas? Lets just say $100 a month. You're down to $722. Cell phone? shyt i dont know.. lets say $70. You're down to $652. Internet (dont say he doesnt need it.. its 2021.. another 50 bucks. We're at $602.

So we're at $602, and understand.. I haven't even mentioned food yet. With the price of foods these days.. it really doesn't matter if he eats out or grocery shops. The difference in pricing is minimal these days. Lets say you do a whole months worth of groceries.. lets be modest and say you spend $400 a month on groceries. You're left with $202.

$202 to live off of. Guess what? He has no kids. He works full time. He lives in a cheaper part of Orlando. 95% or more, or 1 bedrooms in Orlando are more than what he pays.

So wages are obviously the problem. Things only get more intense with a child.



Who are you to say when and how, you can start a family? Is this Communist China? I'm a parent and I can speak from experience.. you're NEVER fully ready to have a child. Ever. Not emotionally. No monetarily. It's impossible.




So kids shouldn't be 'kids'? Kids aren't robots breh. They're KIDS. The experience life, and learn from it.




Fam.. again. That's good. For YOU. Not everyone's book is written the same. You were able to live at home and save the paper. Not everyone is. Some families need kids to work as soon as they can, because they need the financial help. Some kids cant go to college because their parents need them to work. Every. Situation. Is. Not. The. Same. I'm gonna let you in on a little something something. You're in the HEAVY minority with the way your life has played out. I'm talkin about the 5% minority. Which is great for you. That doesn't mean everyone else is/was able to follow that blueprint.



This just aint factual. It might be the case in some instances.. but it's just a rhetoric.



I just gave you an outline of my cousins life. No kids, and obviously not raising a family.. and he BARELY scrapes by.



You're the one that keeps bringing up cashiers. The fact is that ALL jobs should pay a living wage. Construction, IT, cashiers, factory workers.. ALL of them.




Then you don't run a business. You run a sweat shop. If you cant pay your workers a living wage as a small business owner, then strap up your own boots and get your family to work for you. Make it a family run business and keep the profits in house. If not.. pay a living wage.



I agree with this 100%



You're in the minority. Nothing else really needs to be said. And I dont mean that to be a dikk.. I'm just saying.. it seems like you've made all the right calls in your life. Whether that was your upbringing or your strong will/work ethic. The fact that 95+ percent of the population doesn't think that way.. with that fortitude leads me to believe that it isn't possible in the grand scheme of things.

e
As far as your cousin, so his plan in life is to work at geek squad? Thats what your saying. He doesn't/ isn't trying to get promoted, nothing. When he has kids and they have career day, he's proud to say he's a geek squad team member. That's what you saying. When he was 18, or growing up, he said I want to work for geek squad and nothing else. Cool. Also, he has a car, which he's making payments on of $300. Thats a luxury. Him having payments suggests that's its a fairly new car. He could've purchased something cheaper and pocketed the extra $300 a month.

I'm not saying when or how anyone should start a family. But shouldn't that be planned by the man and woman involved? My wife and I planned our kids. My wife had a birth control IUD since I met her and removed it when we planned our first child together and put it back in after my son was born 4 years ago. She's about remove it again, so we can have our second child. My wife and I planned our family and when they were conceived. I thought that was the mature adult thing to do. Not shoot up the club all willy nilly and then be like oh shyt, that's crazy you got pregnant, didn't expect that. Guess we having a kid now. These things can be planned out effectively. If you are not financially ready to have a child with a woman, that's a failure on both ya'll parts, and you're doing a disservice to the child that's being conceived with ya'll non-planning asses, blaming the world for ya'll decision to bring a child into this world.

So the problem, your saying, is that all jobs need to pay a living wage and no longer "minimum wage". Ok so, what's a livable wage? How do we determine what a living wage is for entire population? Should a living wage factor children, if so how many? Should my living wage be more than yours because I made the decision to have more children than you and my old living wage is no longer enough?

What your asking for is all jobs to be equal and they arent't. What your asking for is communism, where are all jobs are equal. And if all jobs are equal, why would anyone work anywhere other than a job that requires the least qualifications aka mcdonalds or some basic retail shyt. Now I'm not saying minimum wage doesn't need to increase, because it definitely does. However, I think the bigger problem is things like housing, food, materials costing more overtime just because. This whole "market" shyt with fluctuations where things mostly get more expensive are the real problem. The price, should just be the price. Is it harder to grow tomatoes in 2021 than 50-60 years ago? Because I'm sure, it's a hell of a lot easier. Rents are being raised across the country, why is that? Because of the "market"? And we as consumers are forced to deal with it because at the end of the day, you need somewhere to live. What we should be doing, is asking how we can drive the market down, make things cheaper. Rent needs to be capped and regulated based on amenities, Not me and you live in the same building, similar apartments but because I got it last year, its $1000 and you got it this year so its $1200 for you because of "reasons"

 

[thekingsmen]

It’s not just Orlando tho. I’ve got family in Tampa and St. Pete and Cocoa. It’s all the same. People can’t make ends meet by working a full time 40 hour work week. And it’s mostly because of este of lay, but also has to do with the continual upswing in rent. They go hand in hand.

I was just speaking on Orlando but I can see where you are coming from

 

[Trust Me]

As far as your cousin, so his plan in life is to work at geek squad? Thats what your saying. He doesn't/ isn't trying to get promoted, nothing. When he has kids and they have career day, he's proud to say he's a geek squad team member. That's what you saying. When he was 18, or growing up, he said I want to work for geek squad and nothing else. Cool. Also, he has a car, which he's making payments on of $300. Thats a luxury. Him having payments suggests that's its a fairly new car. He could've purchased something cheaper and pocketed the extra $300 a month.

You think my cousin started out at Best Buy at $17.50hr? Naa. He's been promoted a couple times in those 7 years. He wants to stay with the company. It's all he's known, and their regional tech guys make bank. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything tho? Let me guess, you're about to say that he should start his own tech business, or get 6 certs like most Coli dudes? Not everyone's built like that. He's tryna grudge it out and do it the old fashioned way. They love him at his job and he feels connected there. Aint nothing wrong with that.

As for the car.. the fukk? My dude got a 2016 Honda Civic Hybrid. He aint ballin in the least. Truth be told, my cousins a damn nerd and I've never seen him splurge in his life. So telling me that he coulda pocketed the $300 a month is clown shyt. Imagine telling someone that lives in Orlando.. a place with ZERO reliable public transportation, that a car is a luxury. And if you're gonna get a whip, to get a cheap one. So you can come outta pocket on the reg on fixing it.

I'm not saying when or how anyone should start a family. But shouldn't that be planned by the man and woman involved? My wife and I planned our kids. My wife had a birth control IUD since I met her and removed it when we planned our first child together and put it back in after my son was born 4 years ago. She's about remove it again, so we can have our second child. My wife and I planned our family and when they were conceived. I thought that was the mature adult thing to do. Not shoot up the club all willy nilly and then be like oh shyt, that's crazy you got pregnant, didn't expect that. Guess we having a kid now. These things can be planned out effectively. If you are not financially ready to have a child with a woman, that's a failure on both ya'll parts, and you're doing a disservice to the child that's being conceived with ya'll non-planning asses, blaming the world for ya'll decision to bring a child into this world.

Nothing you're saying here is wrong. But that's the IDEAL life. You've giving the perfect answers to real life situations. Real life dont work that way. And if you aint frontin on what you're saying, and your life is as you say it is.. then thats good. For YOU. I dont know how many times i gotta say this... but not everyones lives are by the book. shyt happens. The scenario you're saying above happens to less than 10% of the population. That whole post sounds elitest as fukk. You had a good upbringing? Good. Not everyone has. You've been responsible with your money? Awesome. Not everyone has. You didn't have a kid out of wedlock, and you planned it? Amazing. Nearly no one does that. Not saying you're wrong.. because thats idea. It just doesn't really work like that in real life.

So the problem, your saying, is that all jobs need to pay a living wage and no longer "minimum wage". Ok so, what's a livable wage? How do we determine what a living wage is for entire population? Should a living wage factor children, if so how many? Should my living wage be more than yours because I made the decision to have more children than you and my old living wage is no longer enough?

I think states should determine what living wages are for their respective counties. Like breh said earlier, the minimum wage in NYC shouldn't be the same in Lexington, Kentucky. And so on. I 100% think the minimum wage should be a living wage. You wanna make more money? Cool. Like you and others say, find a way to expand your mind. Learn a trade, take online classes, etc. Work for it. But there's no reason someone shouldn't be able to make ends meet if they work 40+ hours a week. If they cant get by, then the government is there with assistance if they deem necessary.

What your asking for is all jobs to be equal and they arent't. What your asking for is communism

That's your definition of communism?

And when did I say that all jobs should be equal. Minimum wage is just that. MINIMUM wage. Just because thats the min, doesn't mean thats what a company should offer. That's why they cant find workers now.

Rent needs to be capped and regulated based on amenities, Not me and you live in the same building, similar apartments but because I got it last year, its $1000 and you got it this year so its $1200 for you because of "reasons"

Good luck with that.

 

[CEO of Morgan Industries]

It's funny to watch the reactions to this article across different platforms. I've noticed people saying things like how ungrateful these people are or how they're making it so retail jobs don't exist and they'll be replaced by automation which is such a strange response. This isn't a story about people just not working, this is about people realizing there are better opportunities and taking them. This is exactly what people have been saying to do forever, especially in response to the higher min wage discussions. This is exactly how the capitalistic market is supposed to work. If people don't want to work a job, they have to raise wages and improve their conditions. That's the market.

This reveals the truth, people are just mad that the class of workers that makes average people feel superior can do better. The general pop are crabs in a bucket man.

Yep. They want that restaurant/retail class of workers who they can treat like shyt just like their rich CEOs treat them like shyt.

fukk 'em.

 

[ultraflexed]

If I had a teenage son/daughter, they will not work in retail or fast food. For what? fukk all that

Dont be foolish, these jobs are made for teenagers and 24 an under youth

guess what, at 18-21 your not suppose to be making a livable wage, your in training and learning. Your in the process of acquiring skill sets and work history you when your age appropriate and have a family 25 an up uou can earn a livable wage.

 

[Dark Knyght]

You think my cousin started out at Best Buy at $17.50hr? Naa. He's been promoted a couple times in those 7 years. He wants to stay with the company. It's all he's known, and their regional tech guys make bank. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything tho? Let me guess, you're about to say that he should start his own tech business, or get 6 certs like most Coli dudes? Not everyone's built like that. He's tryna grudge it out and do it the old fashioned way. They love him at his job and he feels connected there. Aint nothing wrong with that.

As for the car.. the fukk? My dude got a 2016 Honda Civic Hybrid. He aint ballin in the least. Truth be told, my cousins a damn nerd and I've never seen him splurge in his life. So telling me that he coulda pocketed the $300 a month is clown shyt. Imagine telling someone that lives in Orlando.. a place with ZERO reliable public transportation, that a car is a luxury. And if you're gonna get a whip, to get a cheap one. So you can come outta pocket on the reg on fixing it.



Nothing you're saying here is wrong. But that's the IDEAL life. You've giving the perfect answers to real life situations. Real life dont work that way. And if you aint frontin on what you're saying, and your life is as you say it is.. then thats good. For YOU. I dont know how many times i gotta say this... but not everyones lives are by the book. shyt happens. The scenario you're saying above happens to less than 10% of the population. That whole post sounds elitest as fukk. You had a good upbringing? Good. Not everyone has. You've been responsible with your money? Awesome. Not everyone has. You didn't have a kid out of wedlock, and you planned it? Amazing. Nearly no one does that. Not saying you're wrong.. because thats idea. It just doesn't really work like that in real life.



I think states should determine what living wages are for their respective counties. Like breh said earlier, the minimum wage in NYC shouldn't be the same in Lexington, Kentucky. And so on. I 100% think the minimum wage should be a living wage. You wanna make more money? Cool. Like you and others say, find a way to expand your mind. Learn a trade, take online classes, etc. Work for it. But there's no reason someone shouldn't be able to make ends meet if they work 40+ hours a week. If they cant get by, then the government is there with assistance if they deem necessary.



That's your definition of communism?

And when did I say that all jobs should be equal. Minimum wage is just that. MINIMUM wage. Just because thats the min, doesn't mean thats what a company should offer. That's why they cant find workers now.




Good luck with that.

No, I'm not saying that your cousin should start a business. But I work in retail also, and also wdid things the right way trying to work my way up in the same company. You have to know when you're worth more than your being compensated for. And if bestbuy isn't working to get him in a higher position based on his former promotions and tenure then he needs to leave. I hit a ceiling at my first job, I got up outta there. I now work for a company that values development of its own workers into leaders and managerial positions that will translate outside of retail. Your "career" should be working for you just as much as your working for it. If you work at Mcdonalds, then you should be working your way up to shift manager, supervisor and assistant manager. The experience you gain will put you in better position and larger pay at another, bigger corporation. I'm moving to Orlando area in 2 months, so I'll check out the geek squad. Im'a need some talent at my job. Since your cousin won't leave bestbuy on his own, I'll have to pull him out.

So the corporation should make up for that fact that the people aren't competent enough to manage money properly or plan kids properly because "real" life happens? Paying them more is gonna make them make better decisions all of a sudden?

Communism meaning economic equality despite what you actually do, not the actual whole scope of literal communism.

They can't find workers because the government decided to do some dumb shyt and pay people more to stay home than be at work. That eventually will come to an end, and the workers will be back. I do agree the government should do more to facilitate affordable/ basic housing via rental assistance and whatnot, because rent prices don't make no damn sense these days.

 

[Gold]

Dont be foolish, these jobs are made for teenagers and 24 an under youth

I guess what, at 18-21 your not suppose to be making a livable wage, your in training and learning. Your in the process of acquiring skillsets and work history you when you age appropriate and have a family 25 an up tou can earn a livable wage.

And yet 18-21 year olds aren't taking these jobs. Why? because "I worked at BestBuy" is not going to make or break my application to Google.
"I was a waiter at Chili's" isn't going to give me that edge I need when I'm getting interviewed by law firms.

You're describing these jobs as if they are internships...

They are not.

Young adults are not working at these jobs to acquire the skillset they need for their career... they are working at these jobs to earn a livable wage while they finish school/certifications so that they will be able to work the jobs of their dreams.

So if Bestbuy and Chili's are paying me shyt and demanding all the time that I would spend studying, i might as well work a non-paid internship, or just not work at all.

This is exactly the question many people are asking themselves, and we are seeing the answers they are choosing

 

[ultraflexed]

And yet 18-21 year olds aren't taking these jobs. Why? because "I worked at BestBuy" is not going to make or break my application to Google.
"I was a waiter at Chili's" isn't going to give me that edge I need when I'm getting interviewed by law firms.

You're describing these jobs as if they are internships...

They are not.

Young adults are not working at these jobs to acquire the skillset they need for their career... they are working at these jobs to earn a livable wage while they finish school/certifications so that they will be able to work the jobs of their dreams.

Whole point went over your head breh.
No, working at bestbuy will not hurt your chances at google..no one implied it would..

But after leaving highschool you go into the world an start to learn work culture, getting up at certain time, taking structured breaks, lunches, following chain of command, taking instruction. Basing your daily life around your work schedule. And then if your in college and work part time, you re-work your daily life activities around that.

That's what you need to learn comming out of highschool an while your going through college.

That's what mean by "learning" , jobs like target, McDonalds were never ment to pay a livable wage, there stepping stone jobs in route to greater means

 

[Apollo Creed]

Dont be foolish, these jobs are made for teenagers and 24 an under youth

I guess what, at 18-21 your not suppose to be making a livable wage, your in training and learning. Your in the process of acquiring skillsets and work history you when you age appropriate and have a family 25 an up tou can earn a livable wage.

these dudes sound crazy and will cry when these jobs get automated.

In ?HS I made 6.75 working 20 hrs at the movies during the summer and it was fine because I was a damn kid living at home. I shouldn't be trying to buy a home working at the movies.

People ignore the issue in this country is Retail/fast food int the issue but the fact that there is little to know middle income jobs anymore that dont require college, because guess what all those jobs can be and or have been automated.

Like why are we dancing around the ultimate problem? Like do yall only love capitalism when you can trick it off on buying overindulgent things you dont need? But hate it when it does what it was meant to do which does not care about morals?

 

[Gold]

Whole point went over your head breh.
No, working at bestbuy will not hurt your chances at google..no one implied it would..

But after leaving highschool you go into the world an start to learn work culture, getting up at certain time, taking structured breaks, lunches, following chain of command, taking instruction. Basing your daily life around your work schedule. And then if your in college and work part time, you re-work your daily life activities around that.

That's what you need to learn comming out of highschool an while your going through college.

That's what mean by "learning" , jobs like target, McDonalds were never ment to pay a livable wage, there stepping stone jobs in route to greater means

Whole point of the thread over your head breh.

All that shyt is not worth it if it is not accompanied by a livable wage.
Why does this thread even exist? Because people are saying its not worth it without more money... fullstop. If you have a problem with them making this decision, feel free to argue with them, and to explain to them how they are making a mitake by not taking these low-paying deadend jobs.



Its strange that you are ignoring the literal point of the thread. You're focusing on the people... this thread is about the companies who cannot seem to make their jobs desirable to the workforce.

You can learn literally everything you stated at a unpaid internship and it will be more beneficial for you longterm.
However, to make jobs like this worth their time, they are saying that they need more money from it.

Its that simple

 

[Gold]

these dudes sound crazy and will cry when these jobs get automated.

In ?HS I made 6.75 working 20 hrs at the movies during the summer and it was fine because I was a damn kid living at home. I shouldn't be trying to buy a home working at the movies.

People ignore the issue in this country is Retail/fast food int the issue but the fact that there is little to know middle income jobs anymore that dont require college, because guess what all those jobs can be and or have been automated.

Like why are we dancing around the ultimate problem? Like do yall only love capitalism when you can trick it off on buying overindulgent things you dont need? But hate it when it does what it was meant to do which does not care about morals?

Serious question... are you purposefully playing dumb and ignoring the point of the thread?

THE POINT OF THE THREAD IS THAT RETAIL/HOSPITALITY COMPANIES ARE PANICKING BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT TAKING THE JOBS

This IS capitalism. If you want people to work these jobs, pay them more.


Ya'll over here acting like this thread about people getting mad at the minimum wage... that's not the point of the thread. Ya'll are completely missing it for some reason.

People have complained about the minimum wage forever, and companies just fired them and hired new people.

The difference now is that no one wants to work these jobs so no one is replacing these people. The companies are the one's facing the issue, and ya'll still here focusing on the workers?

Use your brains please

 

[mastermind]

Yeah, retail jobs are meant for pocket change for students, retired seniors, not to make a career out of it in your prime years....

The jobs at factories, actually manufacturing shyt, have been shipped to other countries.

 

[mastermind]

Don't agree. The same way people around the globe can uprise and get a crooked politician, leader, gov't out the paint, they can do the same for the workforce. The people have the power to use. Can't be scared. When the US still manufactured shyt, no one "suffered". The people working those jobs also made sure they ate well by forcing companies to compensate them more.

I don't believe in sitting back and just charging shyt to the game. Do something about it.

The US military has invaded countries in the name of corporations. It’s not as easy as you think.

 

[Ya Sinning Mane]

nobody trying to put up with abuse for 7.50 an hour