bernardbodo/Depositphotos.com
October 22, 2025
How Stressful Is the Retail Manager Role?
Retail supervisors recently ranked among the top 10 most stressful jobs out of 873 positions, joining 911 dispatchers, judges, special-ed teachers, and emergency room (ER) physicians.
The analysis by the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), part of the U.S. Department of Labor, noted that retail managers are among the roles paying relatively low median wages while facing high stress.
Research from Axonify, which provides communications and training software to frontline employees, finds 54% of retail managers feel burned out daily.
Axonify said in the study of store managers, “Thanks to ill-suited or outdated communication, feedback, training, and execution systems, they’re shouldering a heavy load, acting as the intermediary between corporate and staff. They’re trying to bubble up feedback and customer insights, while also communicating crucial information back out to their staff, and implementing cultural, product, and promotional initiatives, all while simply trying to keep their location afloat on a day-to-day basis.”
Axonify’s suggestions to prevent retail manager burnout include improving feedback systems, implementing training that focuses on upskilling and cross-skilling, improving alignment between corporate and the frontline staff, reexamining recruitment strategies, and upgrading communication technology.
Legion Technologies’ 2025 State of the U.K. Hourly Worker report, based on a survey of over 1,000 U.K. retail and hospitality workers, found that 52% of retail managers feel they lack time for coaching and team development, while nearly a third (27%) don’t feel they have been set up for success in their role.
The provider of workforce management solutions called out many manual processes that are still taking up too much of manager’s time. Of the managers surveyed, 65% currently spend over three hours per week on scheduling and 52% spend over three hours each week on time and attendance management.
Retail Managers May Fall Back on Old Habits When Stress Mounts, Research Suggests
Research that came out last year from Columbia Business School found stress, whether from work or their personal lives, can cause managers “to retreat to more familiar areas of experience and expertise” and be less receptive to new tasks, learning, and innovation.
The findings suggest organizations rethink the design of workflows, the structure of jobs and hierarchies, and performance benchmarks to reduce the “complexity” of the manager role that drives stress.
Researchers also said that during recruitment periods, prospective hires should be examined on their ability to handle stress factors. The study stated, “It is equally important to gauge potential employees’ proficiency across varied tasks and domains when faced with stressful or unexpected challenges.”
Discussion Questions
What advice do you have for reducing stress and burnout for store managers?
Is the ability to handle stress generally not given enough attention when recruiting and promoting store associates to managers?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Kevin Graff
President, Graff Retail
Bob Phibbs
President/CEO, The Retail Doctor
Allison McCabe
Director Retail Technology, enVista
Recent Discussions
More Discussions
Will an In-Store Retail Tech ‘Confidence Gap’ Create Winners and Losers?
A new survey suggests that in-store retail tech could be a major factor in retailer success…Walmart’s Next CEO Era: From McMillon to Furner
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon will soon be replaced by John Furner. What’s next for the retailer?Which Brands Are Missing the Boat on Advent Calendars?
Advent calendars appear to be trending upward in popularity, with potential to move to other holidays…
Retail manager roles carry a lot of responsibility, so there will always be a degree of stress. However, the level of stress really depends on the company. Some retailers empower and support their managers, while others, for whatever reason, don’t resource properly and leave managers to face the consequences. On top of all this is the customer dimension, and sadly, the general trend has been for shoppers to become more demanding and unreasonable.
As a former Walmart store manager (and market manager), you know what you’re signing up for. Working nights, weekends, and holidays is the norm, but you also know to expect calls at 3AM when a pipe bursts or a drunk driver runs into the side of your building. Retail is a hard industry, and only certain people are cut out for it in the long term. But there is great upward mobility and earning potential, and when you consider the fact that a Walmart store manager can make as much as a doctor (and without a college degree), then the stress and expectations seem more appropriate to the role.
My last store was on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, 48 miles from home. I loved when the store alarm went off in the middle of the night…
I’m lucky enough to work with hundreds of retail store manager each year. They are an amazing group of people. Yet, the reality is that for too many the stress of the job is far too high. The number one reason is the challenges they face in dealing with their teams. Retailers do a great job of training their staff on ordering, receiving, scheduling, markdowns and pretty much every other admin responsibility.
But their # 1 challenge is their staff: Finding them, keeping them, motivating them, getting more productivity out of each, having them comply with store standards, delivering a consistent customer experience … and more. However, its far too common that retailers fail to deliver the training their store managers deserve and need to properly manage and lead their teams.
Managers don’t quit when they’re winning … retailers just need to equip them better on how to win.
I won’t question the rankings – “joining…ER physicians” Really? (nobody dies in retail, right?) – but I doubt a manager in any industry would say “oh yeah, my job is a breeze!” However I think it’s not really so much an issue of “quit your whining” as much what are they getting back: in short “low median wages while facing high stress.” is the real problem here. (And if Gen Z somehow surprised you, I’m guessing this dismal fact, unfortunately, didn’t)
Being a retail manager was never for the faint of heart. The demands have always pitted what the corporate side wanted against the reality in store. With all the apps and notifications, it is hard to stay focused on making their crew’s day so they will make the customers. That said, associates quit managers, not brands. The days of promoting the person who sold the most or showed up on time the most should be done. They need training, encouragement, but also accountability in new ways to measure engagement with shoppers, not tasks on a to-do list.
Store managers continue to see their roles expand often with little or no additional training or resources. And while technology solutions meant to aid these managers can be helpful, too many initiatives and inadequate training can impact the efficacy of these tools. Retail executives and top decision makers need to be mindful of what they are asking their store leaders to – not just give lip service to how much they care about these people, but to provide them with the ability to be successful in their roles. Careful consideration should be given to the potential impact of any new store-level program before it is implemented so that there is a clear understanding of workload and tasks vs. resources available to do the work and execute effectively.
Excluding first responders, military positions, and the medical industry, the Retail Manager position is one of the most stressful positions especially when evaluated on a ratio of pay to stress. On a daily basis the position is responsible for ensuring a store is staffed and the doors are open, the continue flow of merchandise is not piling up in the back room and makes it to the sales floor, Employee schedules are built in a way that keeps employees satisfied much as possible, recalls are processed, markdowns are ticked signed and placed on the right racks. Additionally, they are faced with the life changing process of firing and hiring individuals that align with each retailers values. All of this needs to be effectively accomplished 7 days a week, ~365 days a year.
All of these stressful activities are usually done with minimal or outdated information being provided to the Retail store.
Additionally, the regional safety net of the regional manager has continued to become less effective as the number of locations that a typical regional manager is responsible for has grown significantly as retailers tighten their budgets.
Admiral Rickover’s interviews to test for resilience under pressure were legendary in the Navy—some called them ‘nuclear purgatory.’ As an aviator, my mettle was tested in other ways. But here’s what aviation taught me: stress doesn’t just drain people, it makes them retreat to old habits and resist innovation—exactly what the Columbia research found about retail managers.
When 54% of managers feel burned out daily and two-thirds are drowning in manual scheduling, we’re not looking at a resilience problem—we’re looking at a system design failure. In naval aviation, published checklists and decision protocols don’t just reduce stress; they create a reliable ‘familiar ground’ that managers can stand on when everything else is chaos.
Are retailers serious about fixing this, or are they simply hoping to find more resilient people to throw into a broken system? Clear policies, decision rights, and standardized processes aren’t nice-to-haves; they’re the infrastructure that separates sustainable operations from perpetual crisis mode.
Running a retail store IS one of the hardest jobs you can have, and if you haven’t done it, you can’t really comment about it with credibility. You are completely responsible for a business that you probably do not own, are subject to Murphy’s Law and all that goes with it, plus customers who think it’s their job to give you a hard time. But running a store is also one of the most fulfilling jobs you can have – it’s definately not for the faint of heart!
Retail managers have a tough job. They’re constantly juggling competing priorities without always having the right tools to help. Stress comes with the territory, but giving managers better communication and management systems (not just more tools, but ones that actually work together) could make a big difference in reducing burnout.
I started my retail career in the Executive Training program of the Bullock’s division of Federated Department Stores, now Macy’s. Within 2+ years, I was a buyer, and then several years later I was all of a sudden a branch store General Manager. Here’s the thing. There is nothing about being a buyer that prepares you for being a General Manager of a branch store. Sure, it’s career development, but more importantly, day to day life in the stores needs to be deeply embedded into the thinking of all corporate roles. Yes, it’s stressful, but it can be less stressful if the home office is deeply in touch with what life is truly like day in and day out. It’s going to be stressful under the best of circumstances, so the home office needs to give the stores every consideration. Visit the damn stores…!!!
So true, Jeff! The connection between HQ and stores is crucial on multiple levels. Done right, store visits can be a powerful feedback tool for the home office.
I remember my father, a life-long retailer who owned a chain of women’s shoe stores in the 70’s and 80’s, constantly telling me, “what ever you do, do not go into retail, the stress will kill you.” Sorry dad, but he wasn’t wrong. Retailers eat their young, as they say. The stress really starts early in this field, from front-end managers on up: the pressures of keeping the store staff engaged and happy, dealing with customers who have no compulsion to be polite or even civil, to management who paid their dues and now feel like it’s their turn, achiving sales goals and managing expenses… it’s a vicious cycle.
Sadly, it’s not just the store team. When I moved from the store line positions to the buying office, I learned that “The Devil Wears Prada” was more documentary than fiction.
But if you can learn to keep the stress in check, there aren’t many jobs out there that provide the kind of instant feedback and gratification that retail does. Every store team member has a chance to influence the results in their store. I can’t think of many businesses where a new college grad gets multi-million dollar responsibilities from day one. My advice is if you let the negative stuff roll off your back and focus on developing great customer service skills and learning about sales and product, it’s a very rewarding career with lots of career paths to pursue.
That said, I told my kids the same thing; 2/3 listened, my daughter is now on her way in the fashion industry.
As cost controls have become tighter and tighter, the demands on retail managers have increased exponentially, regardless of whether the store is 2400 sq ft, 24,000 or 240,000 sq ft. Receiving, floor sets, daily cleaning, a myriad of apps (which are supposed to streamline work efforts but can complicate due to the sheer number to be reviewed) are all on top of hiring, training, scheduling and reviewing employees and providing excellent customer service. It’s never ending and requires a very dedicated multi tasking individual. If you haven’t spent a week on the floor during high traffic times with the customer facing selling staff, you really have no idea of either the customer or employee experience. If the employee experience isn’t great, you can be assured that the customer is negatively impacted.
The store manager role has become one of the toughest jobs in retail—caught between corporate expectations, customer demands, and the constant pressure to deliver results with leaner staffing. To reduce burnout, retailers must simplify the role and give managers the support they deserve. That starts with eliminating administrative overload, improving communication between stores and headquarters, and providing dedicated time for coaching and development. Investing in well-being resources, leadership training, and stress-management programs can help managers stay engaged and resilient rather than overwhelmed.
Too often, retailers promote high-performing associates into management roles without adequately assessing their ability to handle pressure or lead people under stress. The skills that make someone a great salesperson don’t automatically translate into effective leadership. Retailers should intentionally evaluate emotional intelligence, adaptability, and problem-solving capacity when selecting future managers—and then reinforce those skills through continuous training.
Ultimately, reducing stress at the store level isn’t just a wellness initiative; it’s a business imperative. Healthy, supported managers lead stronger teams, deliver better customer experiences, and drive more sustainable performance across the organization.
Store managers hold one of the most demanding roles in retail. They balance customer expectations, corporate directives, and team morale while dealing with outdated systems and manual processes. Much of their time is spent on scheduling, reporting, and communication tasks that add little value but create constant pressure. This imbalance between responsibility and support is what drives burnout across stores.
Reducing that stress requires more than motivation, it needs structural change. Automating repetitive work, improving feedback and communication channels, and giving managers real-time visibility into store performance can help them focus on leadership rather than administration. When managers are equipped to lead instead of react, stores perform better, teams stay engaged, and the entire retail operation becomes stronger.
Ideally, store managers need leaders who protect their people. Store teams keep getting leaner yet they’re expected to do more. Retailers could re-engineer store systems to support employees’, customers’ and corporate needs. Chaotic stores don’t convert.
Of course it depends upon the retail format, but I think the job of store manager stands out for both its intricacy and scale.
At the top end, an average Walmart Supercenter employs about 300 staff, with an annoual turnover exceeding $1B and round-the-clock operations. The number of moving parts under that roof is mind-boggling, even on uneventful days. No wonder the company pays its store managers executive salaries.
Smaller specialty stores bring the same array of responsiblities, but at a smaller scale. Staff turnover might the the toughest issue across the board. Any retailer that fails to adequately invest in systems and support for its front-line managers is setting them up to fail.
The best store managers are amazing. Most are self-taught and came up through the ranks. As noted elsewhere, most are thrown into the role because of success in another role. Skills training, coaching and improved tools would go a long way to reduce job stress for store managers.