Top 10 Tips To Avoid Stress If You're Working In Retail This Black Friday

Avoid stress and keep your chill this Black Friday, with the UK's leading retail charity, retailTRUST - shout-out to the shop floor staff!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... right? Every year the Black Friday offers get bigger and better, and shoppers clamour to get the best deals ready for the festive season.

But it's not always fun and games for the retail workers who put in long hours over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend; it's been well-documented how shop-floor staff can suffer at the hands of over-zealous and sometimes abusive customers. It's a hugely stressful time for retail workers who work long hours under huge pressure to deliver on one of the busiest trading days of the year.

The UK's leading retail charity, retailTRUST, have put together their top tips for avoiding stress this Black Friday, if you're stepping up to the breach this weekend...

1. Use Your Power Wisely

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Reserve all the best mark-downs for yourself, and smile smugly as customers squabble over the last reduced toaster.

2. Look On The Bright Side

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Play ‘shop floor bingo’, looking out for particularly predictable customer queries - the winner gets to knock off early.

3. Make Time For Yourself

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Practice mindfulness/meditation/deep breathing (ideally to the point of total unapproachability by the general public).

4. Get Your Namaste On

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Hang from the clothes rails in a restorative yoga pose.

5. Prepare For All Eventualities

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Pretend you're in a very mundane version of Game of Thrones and choose which of the 9 houses you'd be in.

6. Be Strong In The Face of Too Many Questions

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Avoid customer queries by making “tut-tut” noises as if you are mildly displeased and placing items down angrily.

7. Get Into The Festive Spirit!

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Get into the Christmas spirit in a big way, as experts warn that "cheerful stores drive away stressed Christmas shoppers". Go big this Christmas and the crowds won't gather at 5 past closing time.

8. Stay Organised, Stay Smug

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Get your own shopping out of the way. Then smugly watch every customer's December pandemonium.

9. Treat Yo'Self

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Reward yourself after with a festive blowout. You've earned this.

10. Stay Ahead Of The Game

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Think of it as training for the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse. You got this.

retailTRUST offers a range of services, including free support and counselling, to everyone who works in the retail industry, so if you need help or support in dealing with any workplace issues, including stress or financial worries, visit the website or give us a call on 0808 801 0808.