Hy-Vee has suspended its employee discount program after discovering a significant increase in the number of people using it that did not share the same household or even the same city. Is it common for retail employees to misuse store discount perks?

Third party delivery workers may not be employees of Chick-fil-A, but they are critical to the restaurant’s performance as it expands in NYC. The chicken chain has opened a storefront pop-up where gig workers can take a break between deliveries. How do you expect Chick-fil-A’s Brake Room to affect its relationship with delivery workers in New York?

Retail has already witnessed some major forms of automation implemented at scale, and a major player in the segment recently laid out a tight timeline along which people should expect more. Do you believe that 65 percent of all retail work can be automated within the next few years and, if so, what would that mean for people working in the industry?

Walmart is closing three technology hubs and requiring workers to relocate to primary office locations in San Bruno, CA, and at the retailer’s headquarters in Bentonville, AR. Will Walmart’s decision to close three tech hubs, relocate workers and require them to report to the office at least twice a week increase productivity within its IT group?

California recently passed a law requiring employers with at least 15 workers to include pay ranges in job postings following calls for increased visibility to reduce gender and racial wage gaps. Will greater pay transparency force retailers to make major adjustments in how they manage their workforces?

Grocery delivery workers were hailed as heroes during the pandemic. However, Instacart’s experience shows how the sudden moralization of work, which is often used to control workers, can backfire, according to a university study. What effect did the moralization of grocery delivery and other retail jobs during the pandemic have on employee morale?

A university study concludes businesses, including many retailers, are increasingly giving workers promotions with “fabricated” managerial titles but no wage upgrade to avoid paying them overtime wages. Is there some truth that businesses, including retailers, fabricate manager titles to avoid overtime pay?

In an open letter last week, McDonald’s USA president Joe Erlinger blasted proposed California legislation related to conditions for fast food workers as stemming “almost entirely at the behest of organized labor’s firm grip on many of the state’s lawmakers.”  Have public perceptions changed to the point where retailers need to be more open to working with unions?

Sheetz is reviewing its “smile policy” that forbids associates from having “missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability)” following an exposé by Business Insider.  Do you see some rationalization for Sheetz’s smile policy?

In an employment landscape with a lot of turnover, PepsiCo has begun investing in technology and automation and operational changes to keep its workers happy, fulfilled and on-board. What processes do you see companies streamlining with technology to make for better employee experiences?

Nepotism has been in the limelight lately as Hollywood stars have had to defend themselves or their children over gaining an unfair advantage from family connections. Is nepotism at family-run businesses and elsewhere at retail a problem?

A recent study from U.S. News & World Report ranked 190 jobs in order to identify the best jobs in the U.S. today. Front-line retail employment did not land high up on the list. What must retailers do to improve their employee recruitment and retention efforts?

“Quiet hiring,” defined as when an organization acquires new skills without actually hiring new full-time employees, may become the next big trend affecting labor just as the “great resignation” and “quiet quitting” did before it? Do you see the “quiet hiring” trend doing more to take advantage of or offer opportunities for existing employees?

So many meetings. So little time left to get actual work done. Shopify isn’t having it anymore, at least for the next two weeks as part of a meeting freeze intended to boost productivity. How big an issue are excess meetings in corporate environments?

According to a recent McKinsey survey of U.S. retail workers, a lack of supportive colleagues was the leading cause of attrition for those 45 and older while ranking as the eighth most important factor for those under 35. Should retention efforts differ significantly for older retail workers versus younger ones?

Shoppers planning to visit Macy’s Union Square flagship store in San Francisco for last-minute gifts on Christmas weekend were met with a picket line, as the store’s union went on strike for the two days before the holiday. Do you see the recent labor activism taking another step forward or retreating in 2023?

In early 2021, reports of mass numbers of employees leaving jobs in search of greener, more lucrative pastures led to the phenomenon known as The Great Resignation. A new survey suggests that the resignations may just be getting started. Do you see The Great Resignation continuing or switching gears in 2023?

At least three Change.org petitions are seeking to ban a holiday hit. One implored the FCC to prohibit the song from playing in retail corridors and on the radio called it “the bane of shoppers, retail workers and pedestrians.” Is there anything retailers or store managers can do to alleviate irritation associates may experience with continuous holiday music?

Baristas at over 100 Starbucks stores across the country have called a one-day strike for today, one of the chain’s busiest days of the year (AKA Red Cup Day), in response to the coffee giant’s reprisals against union organizers and for its refusal to bargain on a labor deal for its members. What do you expect to come out of the one-day strike being called by members of Starbucks Workers United?

A new survey finds that professionals spend more than one-third of their working hours in meetings and they see about 30 percent of them as unnecessary. What do you see as the core problems with the way meetings are held today?

Justin Lindsey, a Chick-fil-A operator, has been getting a lot of press attention for designing a full-time three-day-a-week work schedule that has eliminated turnover at the restaurant and made it a magnet for job seekers. What do you think are the biggest challenges for retailers looking to recruit and retain frontline associates and managers?

Walgreens is eliminating task-based metrics for pharmacy staff as part of performance reviews in order to place an “even greater focus on patient care and outcomes.” Do you think task-based metrics do more to incentivize or stress out retail workers?

Amazon.com knows it has an employee turnover problem, and internal documents acquired by Engadget put a price on what that costs the company — $8 billion a year. What will it take to lower Amazon’s high employee turnover rate?

Fast-fashion giant Shein is the most downloaded retail app in the U.S. despite operating a business model that critics claim is helping to push the Earth towards environmental calamity. Will Shein’s new resale platform mute its critics?

Mimicking on-demand working, Schnucks has introduced a “Schnucks Flexforce” option at select St. Louis-area stores that lets associates select both their shifts and preferred store locations. What do you think of Schnucks Flexforce and the potential to bring more of an on-demand working option to retail selling floors?

Nordstrom last week announced that Edmond Mesrobian, its chief technology and information officer since 2018, is stepping down, adding credence to the perception that turnover remains high for information technology executives. What’s the reason for the apparent high turnover rates for CTOs, CIOs and other IT executives?

Walgreens continues to open automated pharmacies as it moves towards its goal of having 22 of the facilities in operation across the country by 2025. How will robo-pharmacies change the physical store layouts and other aspects of the drugstore business?

Amazon.com yesterday said it will invest $1 billion over the next year to raise the pay of frontline workers and that it was introducing a new perk that would give these employees early access to a portion of their paychecks.  What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Amazon.com when it comes to recruiting and retaining frontline employees?

In its report, Microsoft revealed that 85 percent of managers “have a hard time knowing for sure that their people are being productive” away from the office. The effect this “productivity paranoia” has on leaders risks making hybrid work unsustainable. What solutions do you see for overcoming “productivity paranoia” developing out of remote and hybrid work environments?

Christmas creep is dead. Retailers moving their holiday promotions up from Thanksgiving Day week is now just business as usual. It is for Target, which announced it that it’s running its biggest ever “Deal Days” promotion running from October 6 to October 8. Has the beginning of October replaced Thanksgiving Day week as retail’s start to the holiday season?

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Bonobos enabled associates to handle customer chats beginning as a pilot in 2019 on an employee’s suggestion and they now do so at all of its 62 stores. Do you see more pros than cons in having in-store associates handle some customer service chat queries?

A global trend dubbed “quiet quitting” has replaced “The Great Resignation” as the latest development among disgruntled workers arising from the pandemic. Has the quiet quitting movement been caused by employees or employers?

Apple has ordered its employees back to the office, and many are not happy about it. Will companies with either full-time remote or hybrid work schedules have an advantage in recruiting and retaining white collar staff versus those with office-only policies?

More than three decades after the software’s arrival in the late eighties, surveys show CRM (customer relationship management) remains a frustration to many users.  What do you see as the weak points and strong points of CRM systems?

Nike has closed its corporate and Air MI offices this week to give its employees time off to recharge their batteries. Does giving corporate offices vacation at the same time have advantages or disadvantages compared to traditional individual times off?

Best Buy is laying off an unspecified number of associates in stores across the country in what is widely seen as a cost-cutting move after the chain last month lowered its annual sales and profit forecast. How should retailers calculate cost savings versus the cost to morale when cutting front line workers?

It turns out that 2021 was a good year, financially, to be a truck driver in the U.S. Driver wages rose significantly as large trucking companies, retailers and others vied for talent in a field where there are more jobs than bodies to fill them, according to a new report. What will it take to make truck driving more appealing as a career choice?

Outside of CEOs, lawyers and celebrities, salespeople score higher than all other professions for three negative personality traits collectively known in psychological theory as the dark triad, according to a recent study. Should individuals with such personality traits be better managed and possibly weeded out or is that a big ask for store managers?

Instacart has introduced a three-pronged tiered-rewards program, Cart Star, to drive loyalty among its shoppers (delivery personnel). Will Instacart’s Cart Star rewards program lead to greater retention of its independent contractor workforce?

Lowe’s is giving full-time workers in its stores the choice to schedule four-day work weeks. The home improvement made the decision after its five-day schedule left many associates complaining about an inability to find a balance between their personal and work lives. How popular do you think a four-day work week will be for full-time associates working in stores?

Walgreens has a public perception issue to deal with after recent encounters with store staff led customers to go public with the ill treatment they received in the chain’s stores. Does Walgreens need to come up with another response other than citing its company policy in instances where associate’s acts of conscience result in unhappy customers?

Managers, in order to reduce turnover, need to shift the focus of career conversations from promotion to progression and developing in different directions, according to a new article. Is offering store associates a path to career advancement a particular challenge for retail managers?

President Joseph Biden last Friday stepped in with an executive order designed to keep freight rail workers from striking over the next 60 days. What would be the consequences of a rail strike on the retail industry heading into the Christmas season?

Starbucks, citing safety concerns, said it will permanently close 16 locations nationwide before the end of July while instituting new procedures to ensure the wellbeing of employees. Do you see Starbucks’ move as likely a measured and necessary move, a political statement, an anti-unionization ploy or something else?

On July 19, Canada will celebrate its third annual Grocery Heroes Day, an industry-backed holiday meant to honor frontline grocery workers. Should the U.S. grocery industry adopt its own version of a heroes day for frontline workers?

Walgreens associates have made the news in recent weeks for refusing to sell over-the-counter and prescription contraceptives to customers based on their religious objections. Should Walgreens and other retailers screen applicants to see if their personal views may interfere with their ability to do their jobs?

the United Food and Commercial Workers union made sure to include the right of self defense for workers if they are attacked on the job. Should retail industry employers give frontline associates the right to defend themselves and customers inside stores or should they continue to ban physical interactions with thieves and aggressive people?

Amazon.com’s size and huge rate of employee turnover appear to be setting up the retail juggernaut for a strange hiring problem — it is on the way to running out of people who are willing to work at its warehouses.  Do you see Amazon averting this looming labor crisis, and how?

Bonobos co-founder and former CEO Andy Dunn opened up about his bipolar disorder diagnosis, exploring the inherent challenges as well as how it fueled his entrepreneurial spirit. Does it make sense that the same traits that make someone well-suited to entrepreneurship make that person vulnerable to mental health crises?

A new survey finds that 63 percent of managers of hourly employees see control and input into work schedules as the greatest incentive for prospective employees they interview. Do you see providing store associates with more flexible scheduling as the key ingredient to greater retention and worker satisfaction?