Another Black Friday has come and gone with a lot of fanfare from the media. Of course there were plenty o’ deals mixed in with long lines, pepper spray, and fighting amongst one another for waffle irons and Madea Goes to Jail DVDs at Wal-mart. But the real story isn’t the sales during Black Friday, but the employees in retail who must work during the holiday in order to ensure that the big box stores truly go in the black during this time of year. While we are busy enjoying the pomp and circumstance of Black Friday, some (including myself) forget that people have to work instead of enjoying their Thanksgiving.
This year while looking over the Black Friday sales, I tweeted about how excited I was to be getting some good deals. A follower on Twitter (who wished not to be named) told me she was disappointed because I was participating in Black Friday. “Stores love to be greedy and don’t think about anything else but the bottom line….so I will be spending my Thanksgiving evening working because my store is open. I was threatened when I asked for the night off.”
Per a comment on another blog post I wrote about Macy’s being open at midnight on Black Friday:
No. They’re forcing employees to go through 9-14 hours of thanksgiving and then work 10 more hours until 9am the next morning. This crap should not be supported.
It’s true. The real cost of Black Friday is retail employees, many of whom didn’t opt in to work on Thanksgiving. And now that stores including Wal-mart, Target, and Best Buy are open at 12 midnight (or earlier), they can barely get in some turkey and trimming before they have to head out and work until later the next day.
One of my Thanksgiving guests had to leave my dinner in order to prepare to work at a large department store at the mall at midnight. And no, they don’t get time and a half because Friday is not a holiday.
The HR side of me understands business and the need to be able to compete in the marketplace. I also understand the need to have employees to take care of those coming into the store to shop. But the consumer side of me wonders if its worth the cost. It’s one thing to have employees volunteer to work on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. It’s another one to make it mandatory.
So what are your thoughts on Black Friday and opening at midnight or earlier on Thanksgiving day?
I think it is insane particularly because so much can be purchased online these days. And often these workers DO NOT have a choice. It is sad that these holidays are becoming more and more and more about the dollar and not family and togetherness.
I agree with Aisha G., it is insane. I have always detested the commercialism of the holidays, reject the pressure to have to buy buy buy, etc., and have never been into Black Friday (the one time I did partake, an anxious shopper hit my car…and left). Each year my feelings about all this get stronger. I tried not to listen to the Black Friday hoopla but it cannot be avoided between the news, commercials, mail, email, calls (at one point I quietly prepared for Thanksgiving and had successfully blocked out the noise for a while, but then I started getting contacted by friends/family who were excited about shopping for Black Friday and wanted to discuss), etc. Ugh! I’m just saying that I already wished it could go away, and the employee’s perspective you’ve shared only makes my feelings stronger.
What can we do though? :-/ It hadn’t even occurred to me that it’s not time and a half! I imagine it’d be hard to make a law against threatening or firing someone for wanting to have the day off, and if we did they’d just get better about including that requirement in hiring practices. But, isn’t it illegal for them to work over 8 hours without overtime (I thought only illegals worked those hours)? That could be a way to fight back, though I don’t personally know anyone who experienced this, and never did myself when I’d worked jobs in the past that required holiday hours. :-/
I agree that Black Friday has gotten COMPLETELY out of hand. When a pregnant woman lost her unborn child a few years back, I knew I was done. Even though I fuss a lot about the sacrifices of working my corporate job, the hardest job I’ve ever had in life was when I worked a part-time retail job right out of college. It was physically exhausting (we weren’t allowed to sit!), emotionally painful (rude customers, mean bosses), and financially laughable.
I didn’t realize they didn’t get at least time and half for black friday..that is just so wrong..they deserve combat pay for that crazy day!