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Singapore

Backaches and blisters: The result of the retail industry's 'no sitting' policy

Watsons Singapore came under fire when its workers claimed they were not allowed to sit during their shifts. The company has said it does not have such a policy.

Backaches and blisters: The result of the retail industry's 'no sitting' policy

A woman looks at products in a pharmacy at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands shopping mall in Singapore on Jun 19, 2020. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: Sore feet, blisters and backaches are all in a day's work for those in the retail industry due to a policy that forbids some employees to sit while on the job.

Current and former retail workers spoke to CNA on Monday (Dec 19) about their physical ailments after the "no sitting" rule – an informal industry practice that disallows staff from sitting where customers can see them – was thrust into the limelight.

Workers' rights group Workers Made Possible shared an Instagram post on Oct 11 that stated cashiers at health and beauty chain Watsons Singapore were not provided chairs to sit, after a cashier told them she had been having "knee issues" since starting the job. 

An Instagram post two months later on Dec 12 said the group had met with Watsons to discuss complaints from the company's staff that they were not allowed to sit during their shifts, leading to "chronic pain and other concerning health issues". 

Responding to CNA’s queries, Watsons said the company “always puts employee welfare as a priority”, and clarified that it does not have a “no sitting” policy.

“Chairs are provided at the rest area and our colleagues can take breaks as needed,” it said.

“The company has been constantly hearing our people’s needs and feedback on how to simplify work and invest in technology to digitise processes and reduce manual workload of store colleagues, allowing them more time to focus on customer service. Watsons will continue to implement necessary measures to enhance employee wellbeing."

HEALTH ISSUES

Current and former retail employees flooded the comments section on the Instagram posts with the toll of the "no sitting" rule on their body. 

One commenter wrote that they held their first retail job when they were 18, and had to "stand and appear attentive for hours in a large department store that was empty most of the time".

They said they suffered "such bad backaches" that they were "basically immobile" on their days off.  

Another commenter, a former promoter who was deployed to the Watsons Ngee Ann City outlet in 2007, said she "wasn't allowed to sit at all". 

If workers were found sitting in the storeroom, the manager "would come and ask you to get up and go back to your station. They always had eyes on us", the 35-year-old who only wanted to be known as Ruby told CNA.

Even though the gig only spanned two weekends, she remembers telling her company that she "refused to go back there". 

"My legs were sore and my back hurt really bad because I couldn't even go for a smoke break. I needed a whole day off to recover my legs and back. Luckily it was a weekend gig," she said. 

Ruby faced the "no sitting" policy again eight years later. In 2015, she worked at the Bath & Body Works chain, where she said there was to be "no sitting, no leaning on anything, just stand like a soldier".

Electronics store Harvey Norman, where she worked as a promoter in 2009, was "more chill" and allowed workers to sit.

"I'm happy someone has taken the initiative to voice out on this issue. We love the job, but the policy sucks," she said about the original Instagram post. 

CNA has contacted Bath & Body Works about their policy. 

Another former retail worker, a 22-year-old who only wanted to be known as Aisha, said "rest should not be (a) privilege, it is a necessity".  

Aisha said she worked in a stationery gift store for a few months in 2017 fresh out of secondary school. As she was a part-timer, she would be rostered for 10am to 10pm shifts, but she would have to clock in two hours earlier to prepare and clean the store.

"The store had a policy that we always had to be engaging with customers, and even if the store was empty, we were not allowed to sit as it would seem like we were disinterested," she told CNA.

"My managers were very strict about that rule. We had cameras around the store so they would check. Sometimes, we'd have 'surprise drop-ins' by our regional managers and they would scold us in the office. It was very tough and ridiculous in hindsight."

As a result, Aisha would always have "aching feet with blisters" by the time she got home at nearly 1am.

"I only worked there for three months or so before I gave up and quit. That was my first and last retail job ever," she said.  

EXCESSIVE STANDING CAN CAUSE RHEUMATIC DISEASES

The majority of such workers experience "both muscular strain and other discomforts", Mr John Abraham, senior principal physiotherapist at Rapid Physiocare told CNA. 

Common complaints among salespeople, machine operators, nurses and doctors who stand for hours for surgery include pain in the sole of the foot, swelling of the legs, varicose veins, muscle pain especially in the calf, low back pain, and stiffness in the neck and shoulders, he noted. 

"Blood builds up in the legs and feet when people stand for an extended period of time without moving around," he said.

"Vein inflammation can occur when standing for an extended period of time on a regular basis. Varicose veins can become chronic and painful over time as a result of this inflammation."

Excessive standing also causes the spine, hips, knees and feet joints to become "temporarily immobile or locked", he added.

"Due to degenerative damage to the tendons and ligaments, which are structures that connect muscles to bones, this immobility can later result in rheumatic diseases."

    A physiotherapist's advice

    For workers who need to stand for long hours, here are some suggestions from physiotherapist John Abraham: 

    • Avoid bending, stretching and twisting excessively. 
    • Don't reach behind your shoulders. Instead, turn your feet in the direction of the object. 
    • Avoid standing on surfaces made of metal or concrete. 
    • Make sure the flooring is level and non-slip. Use mats to protect metal or concrete floors, as the slanted edges on mats prevent tripping. 
    • Simple exercises to do include standing lunges, standing calf raises, simple squats, torso twists, shoulder shrugs and rolls, quad stretches and hamstring stretches. 
    Collapse

    "PART AND PARCEL" OF THE JOB

    Nonetheless, the "no sitting" rule continues to exist in some stores.

    A retail employee in her 40s at health and beauty chain Guardian said "it's the same here" when this reporter showed her the news about Watsons getting flak. 

    Anna (not her real name), who requested anonymity, added that the rule also existed at her previous retail job in a French clothing store, where she worked for five years. She has been at Guardian for a year. 

    Each shift starts at about 12.30pm and lasts until 10pm, with an hour's break. "That is the only time you can sit", she said. 

    "We cannot sit even when the store is empty. We still have to do a lot of things," she added, gesturing to a relatively quiet store on Monday afternoon and a trolley she had been wheeling around before CNA approached her.

    But as Anna holds a nursing degree, she is aware of the health implications of standing for long hours, and looks out for her colleagues if they need a break. 

    "They tell me they have body aches, so I tell them they can sit inside and I will work first, then when it's busy or there's a long queue, I will go in and call them. I am concerned for them, I know the feeling," she said. 

    "And if they're hungry or want to pee, they should just go. After all, if you get sick, a company can easily hire other staff and replace you." 

    Still, she has taken the policy in stride, as it is "part and parcel of the job". 

    "For me as a staff here, retail is a job which is busy and where you need to stand for long hours. I accept it as it is, wholeheartedly," she said. 

    In response to CNA's queries, a spokesperson from DFI Retail Group, which owns brands like Guardian, 7-11 and Cold Storage, said the group "is committed to the health and safety of all our staff members at work".

    "All team members have scheduled break times for rest, with seating available in the rest area, that can be freely used by staff whenever they need to take a break," the spokesperson said.

    "We also regularly seek feedback from staff as their well-being and welfare is of utmost importance to us."

    SITTING ALLOWED  

    Several other brands did not employ such "no sitting" practices. 

    Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice "does not have a policy that requires staff to stand during work duties", a company spokesperson told CNA.

    "Stools have also been provided for our cashiers to utilise at work."

    FairPrice conducts "regular staff dialogues" and "constantly reviews our operating procedures for improvement to ensure a conducive workplace for our staff", it added.

    Current retail workers who spoke to CNA also said no such policy exists in their store.

    At around 2pm on Monday, CNA visited 313@somerset's Spectacle Hut when there were no customers. 

    Ms Zita, the store-in-charge, noted that their workers pull full-day shifts, with two breaks throughout the day, each an hour long. 

    "Of course, we have to stand if there are customers in the store. (But generally), as long as there is one person on the floor, it doesn't matter if (the other worker) sits or stands," said the 40-year-old. 

    "It's tiring to stand the whole day, but if there are customers, you won't feel it as much. You must be on the move."

    Ms Shanamae Silvano, boutique manager for skincare brand Elixir at Ngee Ann City, said employees at her store work around eight-and-a-half-hour shifts with an hour's break.

    The company has an "employee-friendly" policy, and staff can sit down as long as they do something at the counter, such as "preparing samples or stock-taking", the 38-year-old said. 

    "As long as you don't watch movie or play your handphone."

    Source: CNA/gy(cy)
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