Retail worker well-being shows some signs of recovery
Frontline retail workers are much more likely to quit work or work while unwell, despite well-being in the industry improving for the first time in a year.
Better relationships between managers and their teams have helped to halt a 12-month decline in retail worker well-being, even as frontline staff remain unhappier than their head office colleagues.
The latest Retail People Index, from the charity Retail Trust, and global consulting firm AlixPartners, shows that overall well-being scores rose to 62 out of 100 between January and March this year. This was up from 57 at the end of 2025.
This improvement coincided with stronger relationships between managers and staff, which reached their highest level in 18 months during the first three months of the year.
The index calculates retail worker well-being scores out of a possible 100, with anything below 60 indicating that people are struggling with their mental health. The report also measures the likelihood of staff quitting or working while unwell to show the impact of happiness levels on businesses.
More than 1300 staff were asked about their mental and physical health and how valued and fulfilled they feel at work to create an overall well-being score.
There was a 9% fall in the number of retail employees likely to leave their jobs and an 11% drop in those going to work while unwell during the first three months of 2026.
However, store and distribution centre workers reported the industry’s highest ‘flight risk’ and presenteeism scores. Nearly half (49%) of distribution workers and 47% of store workers are still a ‘flight risk’ compared to 36% of head office staff. Forty per cent of distribution and store employees also went into work despite feeling physically or mentally unwell between January and March 2036 in comparison to 30% of their head office colleagues.
Chief Executive of the Retail Trust, Chris Brook-Carter said it was important for employers to build on the improvements.
“Retail workers are still battling job insecurity, high living costs and too many incidents of crime and abuse, and this is impacting those working on the frontline of retail the most, but the help they are receiving from their employers appears to have improved this year,” he said.
“This rise in overall well-bring and relationships between managers and staff is testament to a renewed investment in leaders and the impact this can have on everyone’s ability to turn up to work feeling happier, healthier and more productive.
“Retail employers must now build on this great work by ensuring those in stores and distribution centres get even more targeted support to turn around still worryingly low levels of well-being.”
