Ok, I know I failed to upload this blog entry before
Thanksgiving, but at least this is coming just in time for Christmas! I have
been saying things about this topic since I was a teenager, but I think this is
the first year that other people have shared the same concerns. So I’m talking
about forcing retail workers to work on major family holidays, such as
Thanksgiving & Christmas. There seem to be two opinions surrounding this, and
they are at opposite extremes: 1. Retail stores shouldn’t be open on big family
holidays, so retail workers don’t have to work & miss time with family and
2. I want to shop on Thanksgiving, and no one is going to stop me. But I think
there’s more to this issue than just that. Since I love alternate perspectives,
as you know if you’ve read my blog before, I’m going to offer up an alternate
perspective on this issue, as well as a few potential consensuses.
The issue here is that people are saying it’s wrong for
retail stores to be open on big family holidays, forcing their workers to work
& miss time with their families. A lot of people are asking everyone to
refrain from shopping on these holidays, so the companies’ doors will close due
lack of demand. Some are even asking that we boycott these companies
year-round, because it’s not of good moral compass to force workers to work on
big family holidays. This is definitely a noble cause in essence. People are
offering rebuttals on the pretense that these workers know what they are
getting into when they take the job, and that they are paid double-time for
their work on holidays. These people are even making fun, stating that everyone
would have a cow if doctors & cops did not work on holidays. And of course,
the group that is against retailers opening their doors on these holidays has a
counter-rebuttal for these: 1. Yes, people know about the store’s policies
before they start working there, but that doesn’t make it ok. They take the
job, because they need it, and another opportunity may not be immediately
available to them. People take jobs that remove money for taxes, but not
everyone is ok with that happening. A lot of people hate paying taxes for
certain things, but they really have no choice in the matter, since they have
to have a job. If life’s struggles get a person down, that is essentially
forced compliance; 2. Stating that all stores pay their workers double-time if
they are open on a major holiday is a gross assumption. A lot of stores don’t
offer any kind of extra monetary incentives but still force their workers to
miss time with their family to do what they do every single day of their lives.
Also, even if they are getting paid double-time, that doesn’t excuse the
situation. You can’t put a price on family time & rest; and 3. No one is
arguing that doctors & cops have to work on holidays. That is a necessary
evil. This is a matter of need vs. greed. Retail stores don’t NEED to be open
on holidays. They are greedy & want to rake in as much money as they can,
at their workers’ expense, all the while paying them poorly. (Even if they are
being paid double-time, they still probably aren’t making much.)
Now, here’s my thing. For the most part, I agree with this,
but there’s something else that kind of makes me re-think my stance. What about
the workers who really NEED to work? They are practically paid slave wages, so
I can imagine there are some people who genuinely can’t take a day off work.
It’s a sad truth. Lots of people don’t care about the holidays as much as most
people do, and lots of people aren’t close to their families. Lots of people
live far away from their families, and some people don’t even have family. Not
everyone celebrates the big, popular holidays in the U.S, because they aren’t
Christians or aren’t from here, so they don’t prescribe to U.S. norms. Some
people do work double-time on holidays and like that incentive. Last Christmas,
I had to go inside a gas station for something on Christmas day. I felt bad
about it, so I told the worker I was sorry he had to work on Christmas. He said
he was happy to be there, because he was getting paid double-time. Some people
are more than happy to work for extra money, even on holidays. Who am I to
demand that we take away these workers’ pay days? I mean, when I worked retail,
we were all stepping all over each other to be the one who had the day off on
holidays, and none of the stores I ever worked at offered any extra money
incentives on big holidays, so I ended up quitting like 2 jobs before the holidays,
just because I wanted to see my family instead. But that was several years ago,
and times change. Every place is different too – every city, every store.
Personally, I hate the idea of forcing workers to work on holidays, so I choose
to refrain from shopping on holidays, but I’m not going to push an agenda of
boycotting stores year-round, because they are open on major holidays. I’m not
going to yell & scream & make a fuss over a store being open on
Thanksgiving. It is my personal opinion that it is greedy for them to do that,
but if someone wants to work on Christmas, let him/her work!
So here are some compromises I’m offering to companies who
want to stay open on major holidays: 1. Give workers a choice. Ask all of your
workers ahead of time if they want to be open on major holidays. Give them an
extra monetary incentive, and let them decided by vote. If enough people agree
to work, then open your doors, and let the workers who voted to open the doors
work, while the workers who voted not to work have the day off with family. If
not enough people want to work, then close the doors; 2. Make sure you, at the
very least, let workers know you are planning to be open on major holidays when
you hire them, and get their verbal or written confirmation that they
understand and agree to this. A lot of companies won’t even tell you anything
until the holiday rolls around. I worked for a restaurant that normally closed
at 10pm. I was on the schedule to work New Years Eve, and I figured they would
be open, but no one told me until a few days before, that we were going to be
open for extended hours on New Years Eve – until something like 2am. That was
not ok with me, because I already had plans for the night, and I just don’t
think it’s right to not tell your workers this pertinent information
beforehand; and 3. Take into account your workers’ beliefs & values. If you
are going to be open on a major holiday, and someone genuinely wants the day
off, you should give it to them. If enough people want the holiday off, then
refer back to #1.
Everyone deserves a holiday, but everyone also deserves to
work if they have an opportunity and want to take it. I think it’s just as
awful to force someone who wants to work on a major holiday to not be able to
work, as it is to force someone who doesn’t want to work on a major holiday to
work. It’s greedy for these companies to open their doors on major holidays,
don’t get me wrong. They are not doing it to give their workers another
opportunity to make money; they are doing it to put money in their own pockets.
So that’s why I say, if you are, personally, against shopping on major
holidays, like I am, then don’t do it! Boycotting a company year-round for
their choice to be open on major holidays is a bit silly, and screaming from
the hilltops how much you deplore companies for forcing their workers to work
on major holidays is annoying. Since there is no right or wrong answer here
when you think about both side of the story, just focus on yourself. Don’t shop
on Christmas if you don’t believe in doing that. Other than that, just focus on
pushing stores to adhere to the compromises I offered above.
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