How Stressful Is the Retail Manager Role?

Retail supervisors recently ranked among the top 10 most stressful jobs out of 873 positions, joining 911 dispatchers, judges, special-ed teachers, and emergency room (ER) physicians.

The analysis by the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), part of the U.S. Department of Labor, noted that retail managers are among the roles paying relatively low median wages while facing high stress.

Research from Axonify, which provides communications and training software to frontline employees, finds 54% of retail managers feel burned out daily.

Axonify said in the study of store managers, “Thanks to ill-suited or outdated communication, feedback, training, and execution systems, they’re shouldering a heavy load, acting as the intermediary between corporate and staff. They’re trying to bubble up feedback and customer insights, while also communicating crucial information back out to their staff, and implementing cultural, product, and promotional initiatives, all while simply trying to keep their location afloat on a day-to-day basis.”

Axonify’s suggestions to prevent retail manager burnout include improving feedback systems, implementing training that focuses on upskilling and cross-skilling, improving alignment between corporate and the frontline staff, reexamining recruitment strategies, and upgrading communication technology.

Legion Technologies’ 2025 State of the U.K. Hourly Worker report, based on a survey of over 1,000 U.K. retail and hospitality workers, found that 52% of retail managers feel they lack time for coaching and team development, while nearly a third (27%) don’t feel they have been set up for success in their role.

The provider of workforce management solutions called out many manual processes that are still taking up too much of manager’s time. Of the managers surveyed, 65% currently spend over three hours per week on scheduling and 52% spend over three hours each week on time and attendance management.

Retail Managers May Fall Back on Old Habits When Stress Mounts, Research Suggests

Research that came out last year from Columbia Business School found stress, whether from work or their personal lives, can cause managers “to retreat to more familiar areas of experience and expertise” and be less receptive to new tasks, learning, and innovation.

The findings suggest organizations rethink the design of workflows, the structure of jobs and hierarchies, and performance benchmarks to reduce the “complexity” of the manager role that drives stress.

Researchers also said that during recruitment periods, prospective hires should be examined on their ability to handle stress factors. The study stated, “It is equally important to gauge potential employees’ proficiency across varied tasks and domains when faced with stressful or unexpected challenges.”