Home Depot orders corporate staff to take 8-hour retail shifts

Home Depot will begin requiring corporate employees to work a full day at one of its stores every quarter, a move the company said is aimed at supporting its retail staff.

Employees, including senior management and remote workers, will have to complete an eight-hour shift beginning in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a memo. 

"We need to stay connected to the core of our business, so we can truly understand the challenges and opportunities our store associates face every day," CEO Ted Decker said in the memo introducing the program. 

Read more:  Expect the unexpected: How this company helps employees through hardship

A company spokesperson said it's been the company's longstanding practice to ask staff to spend time in stores, with this new program being its latest initiative. 

Home Depot, one of the largest U.S. retailers with more than $150 billion in annual revenue and 450,000 employees, has been enduring a rough stretch. After splurging on their homes during the pandemic, Americans shifted spending to other sectors and caused a sales slump at the chain. 

The move by Decker to require everyone at the company to take a shift is unusual in the sector and comes amid rising activism in the labor force. That includes both Home Depot, which faced a small unionization effort in 2022, and other retailers. 

Read more:  Adobe, Uber and Google among top companies with best perks and benefits

Sporadic schedules, physical labor and low pay have historically made working in stores tough. The job has become harder in recent years due to store theft and unruly customer behavior, and operators are introducing new benefits and raising pay to improve retention.