Addressing Mental Health Risks Across the Retail Workforce

Labor shortages. Unexpected employee absences. Faltering productivity. High turnover. Rising recruitment and replacement costs. These are just some of the issues most retail companies have to deal with on a regular basis.

At the core of these workforce challenges lies an oft-overlooked factor—mental health.

Although mental health is expanding in business conversations, retail remains uniquely exposed. Due to high stress, relentless customer demands, and physical and emotional exhaustion, 40% of retail workers say their mental health has declined. Yet this industry is the least likely to have employer-sponsored mental wellness benefits, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Clearly, something needs to change, and not simply to improve well-being for well-being’s sake. As we’ll see below, mental health impacts both work performance and turnover, making it an operational issue that requires an intentional, well-informed approach.

The Reality of Modern Retail Work

Compared to many industries, retail workers carry a heavy mental burden. A majority (67%) suffer from work-related burnout, and 42% believe their job increases their stress.

This isn’t because employers don’t care about their employees’ well-being. Much of the problem lies in the nature of retail work itself.

Here are several structural factors that can create emotional and mental strain:

• Customer hostility: Upset customers are an inescapable reality in retail, and frontline workers often bear the brunt of their anger. One study shows that 54% of workers experience customer aggression or harassment, and 43% have been verbally attacked within the last year.
• Emotional masking: When dealing with customers, retail workers often have to hide their emotions to maintain a professional, helpful demeanor. Research shows that this takes extensive emotional work and can lead to depression, anxiety, and low-quality sleep.
• Schedule instability and lack of recovery time: Nearly one-third of retail workers have irregular schedules, which can make sleep difficult and lead to physical and mental fatigue. “Clopenings,” where employees close late and open early the next day, are another common culprit, affecting 50% of retail workers. This disrupts their sleep and, in turn, affects their mental health and performance at work.

• Hourly wages and variable hours: Unpredictable schedules are a source of stress for 80% of retail workers, leading to financial strain and anxiety. Unstable wages can also make it harder to budget for mental health treatment.
• Understaffing and fast-paced work: 82% of retail associates feel regularly overwhelmed due to short-staffing. These employees take on additional responsibilities, stay late after their shift ends, and sometimes miss important personal events—all of which contribute to stress and anxiety levels.

When these factors overlap and persist, they put extra strain on mental and emotional well-being and risk an employer’s most valuable asset: their people.

Who Is Most Impacted—and Why It Matters

The problems above don’t impact all retail workers equally. Some employee groups are at greater risk of mental health challenges, such as:

• Young workers, who are more likely to suffer from burnout than the oldest working generation, according to a report by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum.
• Women, who are more likely to feel exhausted and generally earn less than men, which imposes a greater financial burden.
• Hourly, customer-facing roles, which can foster financial instability while demanding more emotional labor.

Employers can’t afford to ignore these at-risk groups, as they represent the core of retail operations. For example, more than half of all retail workers are women, while Gen Z and Millennials together make up about two-thirds of the entire labor force.

When these employee groups disengage or quit due to declining mental health, organizations pay a hefty price in the form of replacement costs, talent shortages, and lost productivity.

The Hidden Business Costs Leaders Underestimate

The mental health challenges retail workers face don’t exist in a vacuum. When left unaddressed, poor psychological well-being can undermine employers’ business goals.

Turnover and replacement costs

The retail industry has one of the highest turnover rates in the U.S. at around 60%. This means a mid-size retailer may spend hundreds of thousands of dollars—if not millions—on replacement and training each year. 

Mental health is a top cause for this turnover churn, with over a third of retail employees leaving to protect their health and well-being. In contrast, when employees believe their employer supports their overall well-being, they’re more likely to stay.

Presenteeism

Employees dealing with depression or anxiety are more likely to miss work, and when they do show up, they’re often less productive. Retail is among the industries most affected by presenteeism, which is 5x more common than absenteeism and costs employers 3x as much. 

Service degradation 

Low emotional or mental well-being can negatively influence work quality. Symptoms such as poor sleep, physical fatigue, irritability, forgetfulness, and brain fog can make employees less productive and even diminish the customer experience.

Loss prevention and safety exposure

Stress, anxiety, and burnout are known to impair focus and attention to detail, which can lead to on-the-job errors and safety hazards. In fact, one study found that workplace injuries were 3x more common when employees had depression.

Companies can spend thousands or even millions of dollars trying to correct any one of these issues. But to tackle the root cause, employers must take an honest and strategic look at their approach to mental health support in their workplace.

Why Traditional Support Models Fall Short in Retail

Research shows that investing in employees’ holistic health not only reduces the impact of hidden costs like the ones above but also improves employee productivity, attraction, and retention. 

That said, how companies invest in workers’ well-being makes all the difference. For example, most traditional EAP models aren’t designed to meet retail workers’ needs. Relying on an ill-fitting program could yield a low or negative return or, worse, alienate workers and exacerbate their mental health struggles.

Here are some of the most common limitations to watch out for:

• Irregular schedules: Retail workers with unpredictable hours may struggle to schedule mental health appointments ahead of time. This is especially true if they have to wait weeks for the next available session, which is often the case with traditional EAPs.
• Deskless access and awareness gaps: A large portion of retail employees work face to face with customers or on the sales floor, not at a desk. This means they will be less likely to use a benefit that can only be accessed via desktop.
• Stigma in frontline environments: Fear of reduced hours, getting fired, or office gossip prevents many retail employees from seeking treatment. Most traditional EAPs do little to combat this stigma or normalize mental health conversations.
• Crisis-only usage patterns: Proactive support can help prevent mental health crises by addressing issues before they become emergencies. EAPs designed to handle only short-term or crisis care will always struggle to keep up with retail employees’ needs.

If your organization struggles with these limitations, it doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of effort or care. Rather, it exposes a potential mismatch between benefit design and workforce needs.

What Actually Works in Retail Environments

The on-the-go, customer-centric nature of retail work calls for mental health support that adapts to irregular schedules while supporting the various challenges and life events employees go through.

When assessing mental health benefit platforms, retail organizations should look for:

1. Flexible, mobile access

Shift workers are more likely to use their mental health benefits if they can access them on their phones. A well-constructed app encourages employees to explore service options or even message their provider during breaks when something happens on the job.

2. Preventive and post-incident support

A retail worker who, for instance, has just encountered an abusive customer can’t wait weeks for counseling. Ensure your employees can schedule a session within days—ideally within 24 hours—to avoid worsening crises.

To decrease expensive mental health emergencies over time, ensure your benefit provides preventive forms of care, such as:

• Self-guided resources and digital tools
• One-on-one coaching for non-clinical issues 
• Group/peer sessions
• Coach-guided digital programs for physical, financial, relational, and career wellness

3. Manager enablement and guidance

Forty-five percent of retail workers don’t believe their mental health is a concern to their manager. This usually isn’t because managers are unfeeling, but because they haven’t been equipped to offer that kind of support.

Prioritize training your managers to notice signs of mental distress in their employees, ask critical questions, and direct workers to their benefit. Some mental health benefit platforms provide training webinars, digital resources, and even scripts to help managers better support their employees.

4. Peer-normalized care

Mental health benefits with high engagement speak to what everyday employees care about most. This could look like offering services that cater to varying life stages and social identities as well as giving a voice to employees to share about their own mental health journey and experience with the platform.

Reframing the Mental Health Question

Retail companies are increasingly realizing the value of protecting their workforce’s mental health—not simply because “it’s important,” but because poor mental well-being is a significant business and operating risk. And it’s one that requires strategic leadership and data-driven decision-making to address successfully.

But implementing an EAP and hoping it will make a difference isn’t enough.

Leaders who want to see a true ROI must start by assessing whether their current approach matches how retail employees experience mental health at work. Only then can they determine the right next step that genuinely supports mental wellness and protects both people and performance.