Aug 26, 2025
“If they aren't doing great things out there, how can we expect them to be great here?”
—Former HR colleague, and the quote that wrecked me in the best way.
Let’s start here:
Per the National Retail Federation- One in four jobs in America today touches retail.
Twelve million frontline strong, 5.5% of all US jobs.
And yet somehow, we’re still OK watching a 22-year-old put on their fifth name tag in four years, hoping this time it feels like more than a job, hoping this team will be different. Searching for meaning while showing up to do work that too often feels invisible.
We’re comfortable with that.
We’ve normalized it.
But we shouldn’t.
Psychological Safety and Real-Time Feedback Loops Aren’t Perks. They’re Prerequisites.
We talk a lot about “building trust.” But how often do we stop to examine the ways we quietly bleed momentum by eroding it?
Not through malice. But through neglect.
Not from yelling. But from silence.
Not from lack of process. But from lack of presence.
Psychological safety is a non-negotiable. It's the bedrock that allows frontline teams to do more than survive the day, they own it. It’s what gives someone the courage to speak up, lean in, or try something bold without fearing it’ll cost them their hours, their rent, their education, their shot.
But too often we still default to "do this or else."
Too often we still lead with performance threats instead of performance clarity.
Too often we still treat mistakes like moral failures.
And I say this as someone who’s made a million missteps here.
Someone who thought I was being clear, only to realize my tone or timing made someone feel emotionally unsafe.
Someone who meant to inspire, but unintentionally intimidated.
Let’s Be Honest About the Stakes
When we say “unsafe,” we’re not just talking slips and falls.
We’re talking about the fear of:
Not making rent this month.
Losing housing security.
Having to sell plasma just to get by.
Dropping out of school because one more financial hit is too much.
And while those examples might sound extreme to some, they’re real stories from the frontlines. Real pressure. Every day.
We don’t always talk about it, but we’ve seen the headlines.
Tragic ones.
Retail team members who made the decision to end their lives at work.
In malls. In restaurants. In breakrooms behind a toy store.
And we ask ourselves how it got that far.
We must do better.
What Does Psychological Safety Actually Look Like?
It’s not about coddling.
It’s about clarity. Connection. Commitment.
It’s:
Knowing where you stand without fear.
Getting feedback that helps you grow, not shrink.
Being seen as a human, not a headcount.
Feeling like your leader is protecting your world, not threatening it.
Because when people feel psychologically safe, they show up fully. They go from surviving the shift to owning the experience. They stop hiding and start contributing.
The Truth Is, the Frontline Carries More Than We Acknowledge
They are:
The face of the brand.
The de-escalation specialists.
The IT support when the system crashes.
The emotional buffer between a bad day and a worse one, for customers and coworkers alike.
And too often, they’re asked to carry all of that without being equipped, protected, or empowered.
Why?
Because we’ve bought into the lie that “we can just find another one.”
But what if we can’t?
What if your applicant pool is drying up not because of wages or competition…
…but because your reputation for not caring is crashing your hiring funnel like a bad server?
It’s Time to Replace the Old Hustle Gospel
“Sell at all costs.”
“Perform or we’ll find someone who will.”
“Pressure creates diamonds.”
That’s not leadership. That’s negligence dressed up as drive.
Instead, let’s lead like this:
“You don’t owe me perfection. You owe me presence. And I’ll do everything I can to make this a place where you want to give it.”
Trust doesn’t slow the business down.
It’s the only thing that actually keeps it moving.
So, here’s the belief we’re building on:
If you’re not building trust, you’re bleeding momentum.
You might not see it in the numbers yet. But the cracks are forming.
And the fix? It starts with us.
Let’s change how we lead.
Let’s protect the people carrying the weight.
Let’s stop bleeding momentum.
Because the frontline deserves better.