The chain of stores Home Depot plans to require its office employees to work a full day every quarter in one of its stores. The objective of the measure is to support commercial staff and for the entire organization to understand the challenges they face.
This was announced by the company’s CEO, Ted Decker, in an internal statement released to the staff, and which is reported BloombergNews. The intention is that office workers, including senior managers and remote workersmake a eight hour shift in some stores starting in the fourth quarter of this year.
“It is essential that we spend time in the hallways interacting directly with customers”
“It’s critical that we all spend time in the aisles interacting directly with customers and understanding the unique opportunities and challenges our frontline associates face every day.“, is commented in the statement.
As the aforementioned media points out, the intention is not to lose the connection with the core of the business. Thus, the company has previously requested that office employees go to the stores, but incorporating it into the initiative is mandatory. This is a new step.
The measure is understood in a complex economic context and recession in the company’s sales. And these have experienced declines, after consumers increased spending on household products during the pandemic. Additionally, the rising cost of living in recent months has depressed consumer spending in this industry.
On the other hand, according to the aforementioned media, Home Depot’s movement also occurs at a time of growth in the labor activism in the United States. In recent years, unionization movements have proliferated among large companies. They have denounced unfair working conditions and have demanded greater compensation and benefits.
Without going any further, Home Depot itself navigated a crisis with its employees in October 2022. The Home Depot Workers United union filed a lawsuit alleging illegal surveillance and interrogation of workers in Philadelphia stores.
