Hey folks. My job is in management for a retail store with a dozen locations around the US. I manage an immersive experience within the store, which people purchase tickets to enter. I am essentially like a stage manager for an immersive theater show.
Full time job with benefits, pay is $30/hr in a large city. All sounds great on paper. This is my first time working for a corporate company, and I feel wildly undersupported in my role. Every day feels like a sprint to put out fires (constant tech issues, low staffing). We've had lots of folks quit in 3 months: 1 GM, 2 Store Managers, and about 8 associates.
My question is — for those who have found themselves sadly thrust into a corporate environment where it feels like the welfare of the workers is the lowest priority, how do you stay sane? While trying to have the backs of your fellow workers? It angers me and breaks my heart when the folks working below me are clearly burnt out. Most days we have folks calling out “sick” and whether they're lying or not the truth is they're sick of the job.
Example of the environment we work in: we are often sent screenshots from surveillance videos of employees chatting with each other. Sent from someone in a corporate office hundreds of miles away. Talk about not feeling supported. IMHO, if employees are chatting in the slower times at work, let them!
It's retail so there's a lot of upbeat customer service energy, which can be draining.
For context, I'm: mid-30s, bachelor's degree in theater, worked as bartender, customer service, and acting.