My time working at this company has been highly bittersweet. Ive enjoyed the people Ive met, and working here has been a privilege, but throughout my time in style, doing inventories, in price, POG, VMG, and completing the leadership program, ive learned and seen a lot. I was looking forward to voicing my many concerns during my annual review. Many sources online[linked below]show the corporation has cut employee bonuses, some reporting all team members and some reporting salary team members. The news is fresh and could still change since reviews don't happen until April. I won't make it that long under the current leadership, and knowing the reality of the situation, which is that nothing will change. The highest levels of the target corporation funnel the emails back to HR managers and store directors so they can handle them, which leaves a team member completely discouraged. Ive worked in over 10 stores the same core issues exist. The number of hours we receive compared to the expected workload. The quantity of clothing received from the style side feels unethical, especially when you look at how much is salvaged on the price change side and sent to “discount” stores. Each store struggles to keep the floor pad clean, and sometimes it's true customers, sometimes it's “bad” or “slow” employees, but over my almost five years here, these problems are consistent; it doesn't matter who's shopping or who's working. The employees who are consistently working do the best they can with what the corporation gives them. I spent some time doing visual merchandising guides that are sent from the top. These pages are rarely correct for our store's layout, and from what Ive gathered, it's because corporate “won't make” or “give” us proper maps. The POGs never fit correctly and the devices and walkies correctly, if we have enough, they don't work. When I go to these leads with these concerns, its mostly met with silence. There are times they agree but know there's nothing that can be done. My new style ETL asked for my input on how to make the store better, and I replied with my truth. “Over my five years here, the only thing that hasn't happened is adding more permanent people on the payroll,” he almost laughed and said something along the lines of “that's not gonna happen.” but to prepare for our big visit 3/28/25 we added multiple ETLs from others stores to payroll to get the store zoned and canceled the truck Friday so the team members could focus on zoning and reship. Meaning the only way to maintain corporate demand is to add more people to do the workload. I also got a text on 3/27/25 that reads “Hey! We are in a 911 anyway, you can come in tonight??? We are not ready for this visit tomorrow.” A visit these managers have been warning team members about for at least a week. Which is why they added those additional workers to prepare, but why not just be honest? Show corporate the reality instead of faking it? These problems feel systemic and never-ending. There's a clear profit over people's mindset and business model displayed daily in the workplace, pushing even the hardest working team members to consistent unrealistic demands, which is why all members of this company, no matter their title or wage, feel burnt out and like they're fighting an uphill battle.
I did a training video on March 25th, 2025, showing plans change every day at work, and that's okay. To have an open mind, which I strive to do, I just fail to see a way to complete the regular planned workload when plans are known to be irregular and inconsistent. Without adding more workers to complete the heightened workload. I decided to leave the team lead program because there was a lack of communication and support universally. Not many people were raving about the job even while I was training for it, the amount of tears Ive seen and shed on the clock because the never-ending cycle of messes and problems is depressing. I'm well aware all companies have issues. My thought was that higher-ups in management positions were there to help solve core problems; they are focused on metrics and meeting the unrealistic demands their bosses set for them. It all seems to come from the top. Yet when you go to the top, they funnel it back to the people who claim it's out of their hands, which I don't doubt. am I the only one that feels completely defeated?????????
I did a training video on March 25th, 2025, showing plans change every day at work, and that's okay. To have an open mind, which I strive to do, I just fail to see a way to complete the regular planned workload when plans are known to be irregular and inconsistent. Without adding more workers to complete the heightened workload. I decided to leave the team lead program because there was a lack of communication and support universally. Not many people were raving about the job even while I was training for it, the amount of tears Ive seen and shed on the clock because the never-ending cycle of messes and problems is depressing. I'm well aware all companies have issues. My thought was that higher-ups in management positions were there to help solve core problems; they are focused on metrics and meeting the unrealistic demands their bosses set for them. It all seems to come from the top. Yet when you go to the top, they funnel it back to the people who claim it's out of their hands, which I don't doubt. am I the only one that feels completely defeated?????????
