Wellbeing in the retail industry has improved for the first time in a year as relationships between managers and staff strengthened, according to the latest Retail People Index from Retail Trust and global consulting firm AlixPartners.
The index calculates retail worker wellbeing scores out of a possible 100, with anything below 60 indicating that people are struggling with their mental health. The results show overall wellbeing scores rose to 62 out of 100 between January and March this year. This is up from 57 at the end of 2025, when wellbeing had continued to deteriorate.
The report also measures the likelihood of staff quitting or working while unwell to show the impact of happiness levels on businesses.
There was a 9% fall in the number of retail employees likely to leave their jobs and an 11% drop in those going into work while unwell during the first three months of 2026.
However, nearly half (47%) of store workers are still a ‘flight risk’ compared to 36% of head office staff. 40% of store employees also went into work despite feeling physically or mentally unwell between January and March this year in comparison to 30% of their head office colleagues.
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the retail industry charity, the Retail Trust, said: “Retail workers are still battling job insecurity, high living costs and too many incidents of crime and abuse, and this is impacting those working on the frontline of retail the most, but the help they are receiving from their employers appears to have improved this year.
“This rise in overall wellbeing and relationships between managers and staff is testament to a renewed investment in leaders and the impact this can have on everyone’s ability to turn up to work feeling happier, healthier and more productive. Retail employers must now build on this great work by ensuring those in stores and distribution centres get even more targeted support to turn around still worryingly low levels of wellbeing.”
Laura Bond, a director at AlixPartners, said: “It is encouraging to see that retailer investment in employee wellbeing is starting to pay off. There is, however, still some way to go, as evidenced by the persistent gap between frontline and head office wellbeing scores. Workplace wellbeing is often framed solely as a people issue, yet the data in this report continues to highlight clear risks to overall business performance. Organisations that recognise and act on this will hold a distinct advantage.”
