1. Illegal activity at every local location.
You just don't get breaks. You get a lunch, but they do not 'offer' breaks. And, generally, due to how tightly they squeeze labor costs there "Isn't enough labor for the local management to satisfy both their management and the lawful break policy" IMHO. If my direct manager wasn't a decent human being, I'd be outraged. Now, they do little "break revivals' where they make a big show of supporting breaks for employees, but they don't follow through. When you ask for breaks, generally you are put off several times before they 'get around to it' and that's IF they do.
2. Store management has little power when it comes to wages, hiring and labor; or at least makes that claim.
The single most effective means of raising, and maintaining, morale in -any business out there- IS compensation. Period. No amount of fluff your HR can crank out will ever, ever work if compensation is abysmal. If you tie the hands of those you hold responsible for maintaining a profitable and safe working environment, you are in the end hurting yourself, and those people that manager is responsible for.
3. Standard poverty wages for all.
Employers can make me laugh when expectation and compensation just don't match up; and hardworking employees are having a hard time feeding their children, let alone giving them an education. Hell, the guy I'm talking about can't even fix the car he relies on to get to work (and the only car in his household). This location I worked at for 3 years, and the insane stuff middle management was expecting out of the VERY FEW amount of people left at the location was an unreachable goal.
3. Labor shortages leading to inter-location 'dirty tricks' and morally grey interaction
When you squeeze the labor bunny so hard stuffing comes out; you're doing something wrong. Because the amount of drivers are limited by middle management who seem to be quite out of touch with what really happens in 'their warehouses'. This has led to a dramatic drop in cooperation between local locations. This hurts not only store management and staff, but also the customers. What's worse is when certain dispatchers not only get greedy, but have to be greedy, and can simply start telling other locations they cannot help when they really can. Seen that alot, at every location in the area.
4. Labor shortages, and low wages, leading to extremely low morale and trust at a store level.
Not being a formal employee, I am able to witness and hear a whole lot about what normal employees have to go through. When a manager has to ask for two people to do the work of three, and that store manager also has the work of 2.5 people on their shoulders, you're just asking for trouble. Add in FMP's long running, and notable, restrictive and low wages and you're just lighting the match on a social powder-keg. The employees would have no choice but to look at their own bosses like they just grew three heads. The employees also have a higher tendency to turn on each-other; I witnessed that as well. Now, how about the store managers? They -really- get the squeeze. No matter what reality really is, they are expected to do the impossible. They have to ride herd on overworked, unhappy employees and also satisfy their bosses and a -set- profit margin. That in itself is ridiculous because I have witnessed that a store has next to no control over what they actually sell. That's the CSR and Salespeoples job. SO that's one complete disconnect right there. The management/dispatchers can't give out breaks due to volume, and stock can take days (2-4) to put up; even with the contractors help. This makes middle management not only look bad, but appear to be insane. Or, at the very least, difficult if not impossible to 'connect' with.
5. Unsafe work conditions caused by build up of un-stowed stock
This is not the fault of the store level. They are simply not given enough labor at any one time for 'average and middle management acceptable' conditions to exist. It's so bad they don't even have time to remove stock on the floor in the isles sometimes.
6. 'Promoted' employees asked to do more, while not receiving the pay even company rules state they are entitled to.
Bad form FMP; you don't even support your own policies. Boo.
7. All of the above has created a negative-synergy at store locations middle and upper management rely on to get paid.
The bottom line is: Unless you lead in a manner conducive to your employees feeling good, they will simply not feel good and 9 times out of 10, you aren't encouraging them to be productive as they could be -if- they were happy. If they have to spend a generous of their thoughts on how they are going to feed their family, and how could management allow the deplorable conditions that they are in? Why isn't that other employee working harder? (when they already are) etc etc. It's psychologically revolting; and if they end up preoccupied like that, they won't be thinking of work, even if they are actively doing it.
8. Contract drivers underpaid and lack any insurance.
I've put this at the bottom for a reason. The main reason is: Everything above is more important to me; and is much more important to address before my own personal financial concerns. I haven't gotten a raise since I started. Now FMP can easily lay this at the feet of my own company, but from what I understand their hands are tied as well. In fact, they had to accept less money from FMP last contract. (They graciously maintained our wages anyway).
FMP hires 'couriers' for the express reason that they 'save money' by not having to pay for insurance and can get away with having a -separate- rules set, or in other words a different set of rights, than normal employees. We certainly lack any voice to speak for us, evidently.
