Data: Retail worker wellbeing slides after ‘Awful April’

The start of the new financial year was a tough one for workers in the retail sector. Thousands of job cuts have been announced by major chains, with a series of additional costs levied by the Labour government cited as a big factor.  

Alongside all this uncertainty, retail workers themselves had to contend with a wave of household bill increases across key utilities which the media dubbed ‘Awful April’. Add to that the increasingly challenging environment caused by rising retail crime and it is no surprise that worker wellbeing is on the slide.  

Data shared exclusively with Retail Week by the Retail Trust shows that, since April, worker satisfaction has declined across all 15 measures that the Trust uses to gauge employee wellbeing and happiness at work. 

The changes, which compare January to March 2025 with April to June, demonstrate across the board declines in job enjoyment, organisational pride and even how fair workers feel their pay is. None of the individual changes are statistically significant, but every measure declining should make industry observers sit up and take note. 

“Grappling with higher national insurance contributions, minimum wage rises and a reduction in business rates relief since the Budget have led to retailers facing tough decisions around staffing and overheads and we can clearly see the impact on retail workers who are feeling burned out, anxious and undervalued,” said Retail Trust chief executive Chris Brook-Carter.

“For their wellbeing and the future health of UK retail, it’s critical that industry observers don’t ignore this data. We cannot afford to turn our back on staff wellbeing. There is no sustainable future for retail without the resilience of our people. Even with winter behind us, and summer traditionally being a more positive time of year for wellbeing, with so many challenges still on the horizon, it is vital retail leaders double down on supporting the people who will power their businesses through the rest of the year, making sure they have the reassurance, resources and training to handle the months ahead.”  

There is no doubt that it has been a stormy 2025 so far. Every single one of the top five grocery retailers in the country has announced job cuts since last year’s Budget, with cuts across both in-store and head office roles.   

Office for National Statistics data shows there were 88,000 fewer retail jobs in March 2025 than there were in the same month in 2024. The number of vacancies in retail in April to June 2025 was down by 18% on the same quarter one year before.  

Alongside that, retailers have cut advertised staff perks by as much as 60% in the past year, according to separate research by job listings search engine Adzuna. In head office roles, the momentum has been getting staff back into the office which some staff may like and others resist.  

The BRC’s annual crime survey puts retail crime at its highest level on record, with more than 55,000 thefts and 2,000 incidents of violence and abuse per day. 

Several retailers set out major pay rises for employees this year, keeping pay considerably higher than the national living wage (which rose by 6.7% for 2025). The Asda income tracker has also seen 26 consecutive months of real income growth for UK households. However, consumer confidence still remains low and the Asda figures show that low income households continue to face a shortfall of £74 between what they earn and what they need to cover essential costs.  

“The more certainty of guarantee we can give people, then the more control they have”

Hayley Tatum, a chief people officer at Asda

“While wages in retail have been rising faster than the national average in recent years, many on lower incomes are still struggling with the increasing cost of living. Furthermore, with 100,000 jobs lost between the start of 2024 and 2025, largely due to the higher costs of employment resulting from the last Budget, it is no surprise that the mood across the industry remains uneasy,” said BRC director of business and regulation Tom Ironside.  

The Retail Trust regularly surveys workers from the sector across all job functions on how they are doing at work. Over 1,100 workers completed the survey in the first half of 2025. 

Happiness at work was one of the measures to see the biggest decline, with the average score out of 10 given by workers slipping from 5.8 to 5.4. There was also strong downward pressure on how likely retailers were to recommend the organisation they work for as well as how strong relationships with managers are.  

A lot of the factors mentioned here are out of retailers’ control. However, Hayley Tatum, a chief people officer with experience in senior roles at two major supermarkets, said that retailers could help by offering more guaranteed hours to employees so they can have more certainty over their budget and clarity around their schedule.  

“The more certainty of guarantee we can give people, then the more control they have,” she said. Another step, she added, was making sure employees are aware of the benefits they might be entitled to through their role.  

Liz Jewitt-Cross, founder of Future HR consulting and advisory partner to the Coaching Solution says that HR teams are among those caught up in retail restructings, which can have knock-on effects for internal communication around wider changes. Her advice to retailers is to assist existing employees with financial advisory services and to support employees made redundant with career placement services. 

Jewitt-Cross adds that she has seen a lot more investment in HR information systems of late, which should help with the communication issues. “That’s helped make a difference in terms of accesibility of information and support because it’s more tech-enabled, it can reach people more easily.”

Looking across all the data for the first half of 2025 in full, it is clear that workers still prize their relationships at work the most and feel their direct line managers are doing a great job. Retail workers rated their relationship with their manager a 7 out of 10 on average, better than any other wellbeing measure.  

Other metrics where the average score given was higher than 6 out of 10 across H1 2025, include how much pride workers have in their employer, how much they enjoy the job and how well their managers share information.  

Chris Brook-Carter added: “UK retail – and our high streets – are the lifeblood of our communities and offer amazing career opportunities to millions of people. It’s critical we nurture the feelings of positivity retail workers have towards their jobs, managers and employers and that retail remains a place where individuals can thrive, serve their communities and build exciting careers. What retail shouldn’t be is a job that comes with a risk to wellbeing. By standing together and supporting our staff, wellbeing scores, productivity and profits will increase, which is a good thing for everyone.”