The core issue is a lack of structure and communication from leadership. Expectations are rarely clear, priorities change without notice, and employees are expected to absorb the resulting chaos. There is little formal management in stores, so staff are left troubleshooting, making operational decisions, and keeping the stores running without clear guidance. Communication largely happens through personal text messages at all hours, including days off, which erodes professional boundaries and creates constant confusion about what is an actual priority and who is responsible for what.
A consistent pattern is that once leadership identifies your strengths, you are repeatedly asked to take on additional work outside the role you were hired for. When employees attempt to request appropriate compensation for additional work or maintain the boundaries of the job they were hired for, it can be met with pressure and criticism. This creates an environment where responsibility expands while compensation or titles do not. Which leads to low morale among employees, and unsurprisingly, high turnover.
There is also significant pressure placed on retail employees around sales performance despite the fact that associates are hourly, not on commission, and have little control over customer traffic. In a seasonal tourist region, slow periods are highly predictable, yet employees often absorb the stress and accountability for these business realities.
