At the end of last week’s Bottom Line on Radio 4 one of the contributors made the point that shopping & supermarkets contributed to more than just meeting the wants & needs of consumers: for example a recent study had shown that more than 40% of youngsters get their first job in retail, thus giving the sector an important social role in introducing them to the disciplines of work. It was claimed that Boris Johnson had his first job in Marks & Spencer.
And a good thing too, not at all to be sneered at. There’s a lot to be said for getting your own pay packet, learning the hard facts about deductions from pay, & the way your wage never goes as far as you fondly expect that it will.
Even the lowliest job – shelf-stacking or trolley parking - offers anyone with the least amount of intellectual curiosity & imagination the opportunity to learn a lot about the processes needed to get the goods to the customer, the vagaries of human nature, & the way things might be improved.
Best of all, it shows why it is worth getting your head down to earn the qualifications which will hopefully open the way to a job which you might find more satisfyingly challenging.
Link
Radio 4 Bottom Line: Retail
