I told him I need to know if I am going to lose my job right before the holidays or not... I have 2 kids... he said why would you think that? I told him that the state Sears is in is making me nervous and I mentioned reading some things on this site... he flew into a rage and told me I could get fired just for coming here, even on my own time. He said its covered in the paperwork HR makes every one sign. Now I'm afraid they will fire me even sooner. Is this legal?
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I am not a Sears employee but I have been in retail for 30 years and I am currently a liquidation consultant and have worked on Kmarts since the initial bankruptcy. I have had my own experience of working for retailers that have gone bankrupt (3 times).
I came across this board looking for information on what's happening with Sears and I read thru all these post and I just have a couple comments to share.
Unfortunately Sears is on a countdown. Everybody in the liquidation industry is just waiting to see when.
Almost no one in the field usually knows when a company will begin bankruptcy. Usually this information is kept strictly confidential and usually stays with the RVP and up. Anything below them are blind to what is happening and are most likely in the same boat as all of you. Trying to find answers.
Trust your instinct. You will notice sudden changes in shipments, lack of communications, upper executives suddenly jumping ship or you will hear how some key roles are getting last minute retention bonuses for sticking around. All signs that something is happening.
As of today there is lots of speculation but nothing concrete but my experience tells me that you should start considering other jobs.
Like my father always told me. "The best time to look for a job is when you got a job" . Doesn't hurt to look you'll never know if there is something better out there and make a decision if you get a job offer.
Good luck to all, wish you all the best of luck!
I read a lot on cnbc.com too. Links to Reuters, USA daily, other widely known National news site articles that offer a watered down version of what we have here. If you mention something at work and want to cite a source use one of these. Honestly though, there is no point asking your manager any thing. He/She has no power.
Your manager is not in the know Just as all these postings on this sight
At the end of the day all decisions come from upper management and you have no choice but to execute on them. I can’t tell you how many times I was told to do something that I openly disagreed with and my manager would confide that she did as well but there are layers of individual between you and the person ultimately making the decision, your hands are tied. When I was a buyer my boss and I would go into our financial review meetings with a very realistic forecast of what the upcoming months would look like layering in promotions and resets, etc. And we’d sit there with finance and DMM/GMMs and they’d tell us to add XK in this month and XK in that month fully knowing we were never going to hit those numbers later putting us in a position to have to explain why we didn’t hit the numbers. They just didn’t care. No one ever wanted to go back to Eddie and say “We can’t hit this” and that is what they would tell us every single time. A momentary ‘fix’ that would always blow up.
I have been gone awhile but I can’t imagine it’s gotten better than when I was there. I do agree that it is likely a lot easier to find a new job when you are at the store level that corporate.
It should be harder for the corporate workers to find new jobs, after all, they ran the business into the ground.
It's definitely a lot easier to get a replacement job for store employees than for corporate office employees. I doubt anybody's going to be asking probing questions like that for a cashier job or similar.... and if they do, the easy answer is 'better pay and more hours'.
I walked into Target this weekend, lady was handing out some flyers at the entrance. She asked if I knew of anyone that was looking for a job and wanted to work at Target. To my surprise, same deal going into JC Pennys..
Like many other interview questions, it's standard but stupid, and needs a scripted reply prepared and memorized. You want more growth opportunities, you prefer [company you're interviewing with]'s approach to something, etc.
I worked for corporate Sears for 5.5 years and although the writing was always on the walls it was VERY difficult to get out. Having Sears on my resume acted like a Scarlet letter. Each and every interview at the time would always come back to the state of Sears and interviewers would dig really hard on “Why are you looking to leave” fully knowing why but just wanting to hear you say it out loud. There are a lot of good people at Sears trying very hard to get out, they aren’t id--ts, they have a failing brand attached to them. It’s no small feat.
Is this post for real? If you still work for Sears and don't have a backup plan at this point you are an id--t.
Suing is definitely the way to go. It will help your reputation and make you even more employable in the future. You could put it right on your resume, but you won't need to because word will get around.
Much like @VqKJrZ4-1exf , My question would be what ever gave you the impression that SHLD was financially stable within the last 5 years?
Tons of jobs out there. Start looking.
Anyone who works at Sears needs to have their resume upto date. If you think your manager knows if your store is closing, you'd be wrong. He's at least as afraid as you, as his job will be gone too. The middle of this month Sears has a large bond payment due. I don't think they have enough money to cover it. Bankruptcy most likely me next.
Time to start looking for a new job.
restraining g what you read on your own time is not a reasonable condition of employment it doesn't affect your ability to do your work . a minimum wage lawyer could defend you and win if you get blowback from your private time reading
For anyone else considering talking to their manager like the OP did, perhaps say you saw an article on a major news site that made you concerned (e.g. CNN, Forbes, Associated Press, etc), instead of mentioning thelayoff.com. Sears management has been on a crusade against this site in at least some stores/regions for months now, so it's probably going to be easier to keep the conversation 'on-topic' if you leave it out. The reasons for concern are all over the major news sites anyway.
Now wait for 'no hours for you' message
The company expects you to follow the official party line. At all times, your free time, your work time, all the time.
So, if you went to you manager and told him/her that you are sometimes/often here soaking up all jolly stuff that we see here daily, what did you expect? I am no manager but I'd still tell you not to do it - stick with the party line, all the time.
Now, the issue is that people are unhappy and this frustration has to be released somewhere, I'd rather see it here on layoffs.com than someone loosing their mind in a work setting, it's more contained here...
You have a bit of that old 'dont ask dont tell' situation, just shut the f--- up and you'll be fine.
manager Is FOS. Get another job now. You will be making more money too.
@1fpb You are a good person. Good luck.
1st Amendment says the government can't infringe on your right to free speech. Doesn't say anything about a corporation doing the same.
O.P-- Just a question. What in your store or in your experience with working for Sears gives you any kind of security in you job? Forget about this site or any other site or even financial sites that talk about SHC.
Just ask yourself honestly. Do you see anything with this company that gives you any hope that you can rely on them for 1,5, 10 years of employment? Do you think that by working hard and doing a great job that you will get a raise and have a career that will be better than at some other company? Do you see a company that is innovative, forward thinking, on the edge of technology, growing a customer base and growing a reputation for excellence? Do you see a company that has a potential to be great or is clinging to the past glories? Do you see a company that is a leader in its field or becoming a leader and changing the retail landscape for the better? Are you proud to work for this company and eagerly tell people where you work? Do see a company where you can work yourself up the ladder to bigger and better things?
IF you can answer yes to most of these questions then stay, if not then you have your future before you---- go get it!!
Gee, I'm a manager (zone supervisor) and I would have not flew off the handle like that. I don't think Sears is all that and a bag of chips although I have been around managers that have thought that way, namely our district manager. I just do my best and expect everybody else to do the same, but I also know that there are some serious problems and I would have said, "you know, I completely understand. These are scary times and I just don't know what's going on. You do what you think is best for you and I support you either way" (whether they stayed or left) and if they had a decent work ethic, I would have offered a reference if they chose to leave. I would not have been incensed at a genuine concern like that. I hope everybody doesn't think that all Sears managers act like this.
I will not deny that it is frustrating that people are leaving at the first chance they get because it is actually difficult to get people to stay on once they see how low their hours are and hear about the constant bad news about Sears. At the same time, I cannot blame them one iota for doing so!
I'm trying to get out but after sending in 15+ applications for a similar position at other retailers, nobody is calling me for an interview even after following up with them. I've found out that some of them weren't even hiring for those positions even though there were postings for those positions on their sites and job boards. It's disheartening. I have five years with Sears, four of those as an ASM/zone supervisor.
You won't get fired, you just won't get any hours. And you'll have a hard time proving any perceived link.
No it's not legal to prevent you from visiting and/or posting on this site --- HR may have overlooked or misinterpreted one itty bitty item - has something to with your rights under the1st Amendent
I find it funny that your manager didn't even say anything to reassure you that the company is doing fine. XD
You need to find another job ...
There is no way of knowing who you are and what you post. Giving their current state of affairs, managers have more on their plate instead of trying to figure out who is posting what.
No, it's not legal.
Now...if you were posting on here and telling lies about your manager, then maybe...