"In tough economic times, employee experience tends to take a backseat to productivity. Companies slip into old habits, reducing workforce investments and pushing people to "do more with less." After all, employees should just be grateful to have jobs, right? People end up tolerating less-than-great environments to keep their paychecks. It's an unfortunate cycle that keeps repeating. The deskless perspective This cycle plays out differently on the frontline. Turnover is a constant reality-in good times and bad-in industries like retail, food service, healthcare, and hospitality."
"This variability highlights the fragile nature of deskless operations. Every departure damages a team's ability to deliver value to customers. With lean labor budgets, schedules include just enough people to get through the day. A single call in sick can throw off an entire shift. A permanent departure leaves an even bigger hole, especially when it's someone managers lean on. Overtime costs spike. Team members burn out. Managers spend more time hiring than running the business."
By the time exit interviews occur, employees have already decided to leave and lost capacity cannot be recovered. Stay interviews often become checkbox exercises focused on HR optics rather than improving work conditions. During economic downturns, companies prioritize productivity over employee experience, cutting workforce investments and pressuring staff to do more with less. Frontline roles in retail, food service, healthcare, and hospitality experience persistent, variable turnover that destabilizes teams. Lean staffing makes single absences disruptive and permanent departures create critical gaps. Resulting overtime, burnout, and managerial hiring time reduce operational effectiveness and degrade customer service and loyalty.
Read at Big Think
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