Whispers in the aisles: Alleged employee turmoil at Woolworths
- Replies 21
As we navigate the aisles of Woolworths, filling our trolleys with the essentials and perhaps a treat or two, it's easy to overlook the efforts of the staff that keep the shelves stocked and the checkouts moving.
But behind the scenes, a different story is unfolding—one that has recently been brought to light by two courageous Woolworths employees who have decided to speak out against what they describe as 'baffling' management decisions.
These whistleblowers, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have shared their experiences of working under what they claim are increasingly difficult conditions.
Their allegations come when Woolworths' profits and pricing strategies are under intense scrutiny following the appearance of outgoing CEO Brad Banducci before a Senate hearing.
In a heartfelt admission to a news agency, one employee disclosed the emotional toll the job has taken, saying he’d ‘gone home crying’ due to the extreme workload caused by staffing restrictions at his store.
Another voiced their frustrations on social media and lamented the reduction of staff hours, which has left many employees, including themselves, struggling to make ends meet.
The post quickly captured the internet’s attention, painted a picture of a workforce under pressure, and claimed that store managers had been instructed to cut back on staffing levels.
You can read the employee’s statement below:
The outcry from these employees has resonated with many. The post garnered almost 7,000 reactions and prompted a wave of solidarity from current and former Woolworths workers who shared similar experiences.
One former manager expressed relief at having left the company and said, ‘Five years of management with them as well. Would never go back.’
‘Cutting hours is not a new thing. They were doing it back when I quit working there in 2011,’ another user added.
Another anonymous employee alleged that working for Woolworths is both ‘physically and mentally exhausting’.
They said, ‘We have staff wanting to reduce their hours because they can’t handle the ridiculous workload that is being put on us daily.’
They also claimed, ‘The stores are being told to hire school kids and uni students for the night time and weekend shifts, but making us work on a skeleton crew during the day, they won’t let us hire day people because they cost too much.’
‘I myself have gone home crying and considered stepping down from my customer service assistant manager position to just a full-time team member because of the workload.’
‘We get abuse from customers daily because of the lack of staff we have on during the day,’ they added.
In response to these allegations, a Woolworths spokesperson said, ‘We work hard to provide our team members with meaningful and predictable work hours that work for them.’
‘Our full-time and part-time team members have set minimum hours in their contracts which guarantee they will receive these hours every week.’
‘Across Australia, we employ over 130,000 team members in our stores and are continuing to recruit new team members every month.’
Furthermore, Woolworths encouraged its staff to seek additional shifts in neighbouring stores.
‘To help our team members pick up extra shifts that work for them, they can also choose to let local management know when they are available to work in neighbouring stores,’ the spokesperson added.
‘We aim to roster our teams to create a positive experience for them and our customers—matching rosters to when customers are shopping in our stores and when tasks need to be completed.’
It is also understood that Woolworths has not explicitly sent instructions to prioritise hiring high school or university students over other demographics.
Additionally, if Woolworths employees have particular issues they hesitate to discuss with their store manager, they are urged to reach out directly to senior management or utilise the confidential Speak Up service.
This service, administered by a third party, permits anonymity if desired.
Access to the Speak Up service is available to Woolworths team members here.
This isn’t the first time Woolworths has been put under scrutiny due to alleged employee dissatisfaction.
In a previous story, the company was in the public spotlight due to an alleged million-dollar oversight.
You can read about the story here.
Have you noticed changes in your local Woolworths? Have you had interactions with staff that suggest they might be under undue pressure? Let us know in the comments below!
But behind the scenes, a different story is unfolding—one that has recently been brought to light by two courageous Woolworths employees who have decided to speak out against what they describe as 'baffling' management decisions.
These whistleblowers, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have shared their experiences of working under what they claim are increasingly difficult conditions.
Their allegations come when Woolworths' profits and pricing strategies are under intense scrutiny following the appearance of outgoing CEO Brad Banducci before a Senate hearing.
Woolworths management was put under scrutiny due to alleged employee gripes and ‘baffling’ management decisions. Image Source: Shutterstock / ArliftAtoz2205
In a heartfelt admission to a news agency, one employee disclosed the emotional toll the job has taken, saying he’d ‘gone home crying’ due to the extreme workload caused by staffing restrictions at his store.
Another voiced their frustrations on social media and lamented the reduction of staff hours, which has left many employees, including themselves, struggling to make ends meet.
The post quickly captured the internet’s attention, painted a picture of a workforce under pressure, and claimed that store managers had been instructed to cut back on staffing levels.
You can read the employee’s statement below:
The outcry from these employees has resonated with many. The post garnered almost 7,000 reactions and prompted a wave of solidarity from current and former Woolworths workers who shared similar experiences.
One former manager expressed relief at having left the company and said, ‘Five years of management with them as well. Would never go back.’
‘Cutting hours is not a new thing. They were doing it back when I quit working there in 2011,’ another user added.
Another anonymous employee alleged that working for Woolworths is both ‘physically and mentally exhausting’.
They said, ‘We have staff wanting to reduce their hours because they can’t handle the ridiculous workload that is being put on us daily.’
They also claimed, ‘The stores are being told to hire school kids and uni students for the night time and weekend shifts, but making us work on a skeleton crew during the day, they won’t let us hire day people because they cost too much.’
‘I myself have gone home crying and considered stepping down from my customer service assistant manager position to just a full-time team member because of the workload.’
‘We get abuse from customers daily because of the lack of staff we have on during the day,’ they added.
In response to these allegations, a Woolworths spokesperson said, ‘We work hard to provide our team members with meaningful and predictable work hours that work for them.’
‘Our full-time and part-time team members have set minimum hours in their contracts which guarantee they will receive these hours every week.’
‘Across Australia, we employ over 130,000 team members in our stores and are continuing to recruit new team members every month.’
Furthermore, Woolworths encouraged its staff to seek additional shifts in neighbouring stores.
‘To help our team members pick up extra shifts that work for them, they can also choose to let local management know when they are available to work in neighbouring stores,’ the spokesperson added.
‘We aim to roster our teams to create a positive experience for them and our customers—matching rosters to when customers are shopping in our stores and when tasks need to be completed.’
It is also understood that Woolworths has not explicitly sent instructions to prioritise hiring high school or university students over other demographics.
Additionally, if Woolworths employees have particular issues they hesitate to discuss with their store manager, they are urged to reach out directly to senior management or utilise the confidential Speak Up service.
This service, administered by a third party, permits anonymity if desired.
Access to the Speak Up service is available to Woolworths team members here.
This isn’t the first time Woolworths has been put under scrutiny due to alleged employee dissatisfaction.
In a previous story, the company was in the public spotlight due to an alleged million-dollar oversight.
You can read about the story here.
Last edited by a moderator:
.png){kind=icon}
