The Worst Retail Companies to Work for in the US

Job hunters considering employment with a retailing company want to know which are the best retail employers to pursue, as well as which retailing companies they should avoid. By researching several different "best" lists, job hunters can easily identify a variety of ways that a retail company would be a best fit retail employer.

It's a bit harder to find a list of the worst companies to work for in retail, but prospective employees now have a place to go for this information as well.

The Origin of the Worst Places to Work List

Few organizations are brave enough to release "worst" lists. We can only imagine the backlash that happens when a multi-billion dollar retailing company is identified as the "worst" in any way. However, Glassdoor.com is one organization that dared to compile and make public a "Worst Companies to Work For" list beginning in 2008 based on voluntary employee surveys that evaluate eight workplace factors:

• Senior leadership
• Communication
• Employee morale
• Career opportunities
• Work/life balance
• Compensation and benefits
• Recognition and feedback
• Fairness and respect

Glassdoor stopped publishing its “worst employers” list after 2009, but using the data available on the Glassdoor website, 24/7 Wall St. has been creating its own worst workplaces list since 2012, based on its research and analysis of the ratings, rankings, and comments which are publicly available on Glassdoor.com.

More than half of the companies on the 2015 Worst Companies to Work For list are retail companies. While this doesn't speak particularly well for the retail industry as a whole, it is even more damaging to the individual retail companies that are consistently ranked by their employees as a bad place to work.

Dillard's has been ranked as one of the worst retail companies to work for in recent years. The same goes for Sears and Kmart, although they have not always landed on the list. Being a multi-year "worst employer" doesn't help the Dillard's or Sears/Kmart recruiting efforts at any level in the retail organization. And it also doesn't help recruiters in the largest U.S. retail chains, which prospective employees tend to consider to be guilty by association of bad employment practices. 

What follows is a list of retail companies that have been ranked as the worst retail employers in 2019, as well as some past lists. The number in the left column indicates the "worst" ranking that each retail company was assigned according to survey results, compared to all U.S. companies in all industries. The lower the ranking number, the worse the retail employer is, according to current and past employees who voluntarily posted their opinions on Glassdor.com.

2019 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 5. Family Dollar Stores
• 12. The Children’s Place

2015 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 2. Dillard's
• 3. Kmart
• 4. Forever 21
• 6. Sears
• 9. Ross Stores
• 10. Dollar General
• 12. CVS

2014 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 1. Books-A-Million
• 4. Jos. A. Bank Clothiers
• 6. Dillard’s
• 8. hhgregg
• 9. Family Dollar
• 10. Children’s Place
• 11. RadioShack

2013 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 3. Dillard’s
• 4. Dollar General
• 5. Radio Shack
• 7. Sears / Kmart

2012 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 2. Dillard’s
• 3. Radio Shack
• 5.  OfficeMax
• 6. Sears / Kmart
• 9.  Rite Aid
• 10. GameStop

2009 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 4.    AutoZone
• 15.  Kmart
• 16.  RadioShack
• 20.  Forever 21
• 23.  Sports Authority
• 24.  Fastenal
• 25.  Bed Bath & Beyond

2008 Worst Retail Companies to Work For

• 6.    Radio Shack
• 18.  Chrysler
• 24.  Borders
• 25.  Rite Aid
• 31.  OfficeMax
• 37.  Blockbuster
• 41.  Macy's
• 46.  Circuit City
• 47.  eBay

More About Retail Jobs and Employers:

• Best Retail Companies to Work For
• Apply Online for Current Retail Job Openings