Zero work life balance and extremely challenging - Lidl Sales Graduate Lidl Employee Review

2.0
May 18, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I spent approximately 18 months on the Sales Management Graduate Scheme at Lidl GB, and while it definitely had some positives, the experience overall was incredibly intense and, at times, overwhelming. The pay is very competitive for a graduate scheme, and you’re given a lot of responsibility from day one. It’s a fast-paced environment that does teach you resilience, how to work under pressure, and how to manage large teams and operations.

Cons

That being said, the work-life balance is practically non-existent. There were days where I would start my shift at noon and not finish until 5am the following day. Being contactable at all hours, including weekends and late nights, is not just expected—it’s the norm. It often felt like you were expected to have no personal life or commitments outside of work. Plans with family and friends were regularly cancelled or interrupted due to having to come into work or stay late, and there was little to no respect for boundaries. The management culture made things even more difficult. Support from leadership was minimal, and feedback was rarely constructive. The attitude seemed to be that you should just "figure it out" and keep pushing, regardless of how sustainable that was. It’s a very sink-or-swim environment with high turnover and limited empathy for the demands being placed on us as staff.

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Lidl Response
1y
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We take every review to heart, whether from current or past employees, and we really appreciate your feedback. If you want to chat more about your Lidl experience, reach out at careers.sm@lidl.co.uk. We’re grateful for all the hard work you put in, and we wish you nothing but the best moving forward!

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