Misery & Stress rather than Magic & Sparkle - Anonymous employee Marks & Spencer Employee Review

1.0
Jan 10, 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

20% discount on M&S branded items including food, clothing and home. Some lovely colleagues and managers, but not everyone is helpful, supportive, positive and caring, it can be quite mixed and therefore stressful. 5 out of 7 managers over time were incredibly supportive, helpful, fair and positive. 2 of out 7 managers caused so many problems, and not just for me.

Cons

Some colleagues and managers (around 5%) were unhelpful, unsupportive, uncooperative and negative in their behaviour. Team work was weak and poor at times, some inability to think customer first. Insufficient technology, specifically hand held terminals, increasing pressures when serving customers. Overworked and under pressure during peak season. In 2021, worked every day of Christmas week with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so too tired too enjoy the Christmas season. A very mixed skill and ability set for the same pay rate, so too much pressure on key top performers. Some managers should have been placed in charge of trolleys, rather than people. The impact of poor management created serious consequences in terms of health, safety and wellbeing. More unexpectedly difficult challenges than the role should have included, due to issues with managers, colleagues, logistics, equipment and support.

avatar
Marks & Spencer Response
3y
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and for your honesty. We're disappointed to hear the concerns you’ve raised and would like to take this opportunity to apologise for how you felt during your time with us. This doesn’t sound like the way we do things at Marks and Spencer and completely goes against the values we've worked so hard to uphold. As a business we want to make sure that all of our Colleagues feel supported and enjoy being a part of the Marks and Spencer family. As the issues you've raised are serious, we'd hope that our Colleagues know that they can raise their concerns to another Manager if they're not supported by their own, or reach out to their local Big Rep. thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. Marks and Spencer

Explore other reviews about Marks & Spencer

5.0
Aug 5, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I love how positive the working environment

Cons

I dont like some of the names of the bread

avatar
Marks & Spencer Response
11mo
Hi there, thanks so much for leaving such a great review – it’s lovely to hear that you enjoyed working for us! We're so grateful for your kind words, so thanks for sharing your review with us and the Glassdoor community. Our success relies on the dedication of employees like yourself, so we thank you for all your hard work! Wishing you all the best, Marks and Spencer
1.0
Jul 27, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-20% discount -I must enter 5 words

Cons

Never before have I worked for a company where the threat of gross misconduct is thrown around constantly by management. Senior members of staff have been given wrriten warnings over sudden changes in policy. Instead of carrot and stick you're just given the stick. A sudden change in policy comes in and immediately a TM or TSM will tell you "if you can't do this you will recieve a written warning or disciplinary." That is a best case scenario, the alternative is nobody tells you and you continue to do everything as normal and you get punished for an absolute absence of communication. Regional managers pressure Store Managers to hand out punishments like quotas. Worst of all, the company promotes immature and lazy managers for the most part, who will happily stand around doing absolutely nothing, but drive workers aged 60+ like a cart horse. Sorting basic worker's rights like annual leave is a chore to them, and they act as though they are doing you a favour when you do the bare minimum. Favouritism in my store is endemic. Not all managers are like this, my store manager just happens to like a handful of staff and puts down everyone else.

2
avatar
Marks & Spencer Response
11mo
Thanks for raising your concerns. We're really sorry to hear you’re unhappy and we want you to know that at M&S, we care deeply about doing the right thing and acting with integrity, building trust, supporting one another and taking the time to listen. You have already addressed the first step of voicing your views on here, and now we encourage you to talk to your Line Manager. If you feel you cannot approach your Line Manager, then tell a more senior person or someone who you feel most at ease with, for example your BIG rep or your HR Business Partner. Thanks again for sharing, - Marks and Spencer
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All