Pros
There are no best reasons to work at m&s , I would advise anyone to avoid it at all costs.
Cons
Managers don’t even bother replying when you say hello , they were hardly around as they took half the day as a lunch break so often left to deal with managers duties. Asked to work less than 11 between shifts and shifts over 12/14 hours long. People were favourites often , the favourite people were allowed to pick their own jobs and leave work to pick up drugs because they were friends with managers. Managers often seen leaving the toilets together wiping their noses with an uplifted mood. Managers engaging in sexual activity in the visual merchandising room. Managers openly admit not understanding or caring about mental health , managers calling staff things like “useless”. Hardly any training. Managers organising a fashion show and it getting called off because they only asked young , thin attractive people to take part. Managers screaming at the top of their lungs workers , including myself. Including swearing at people and name calling. Sexual comments from male managers that I don’t feel comfortable repeating. Constant phone calls from managers to work extra shifts and feeling bullied into working until you feel exhausted. No chance of a promotion even after working there 5 years , they are very confrontational if you call in sick even if it’s only once. Very difficult to have a drink on busy days if your serving on the till , 3 of my colleagues fainted on one day as it was impossible to get away to re-fill waterbottles which had to have our name on or was thrown in the bin. Sometimes if somebody had a problem and they would speak to a manager they would reply “don’t work here then” to people so nobody spoke up about much. If we had to do surveys about managers they would watch you input your answers so it wasn’t anonamous. Managers called me names behind my back , I went to work everyday full of anxiety and I’m still recovering now. They don’t have a HR department , they have a “BIG representative” which is confusing and often one or two people in the store.
