Vantaggi
When I first started 10 years ago there was more opportunity for raises and the health benefits were better. I like that I'm not at a desk and that I move around most of the day.
Svantaggi
In the past few years raises first got less frequent, then got smaller and less frequent, and are now X number employees can get a raise in an all-or-nothing sort of way. For me, who has been employed here so long, it makes little difference in my wages--I'm capped out--but for people starting at $10 per hour, not getting raises is serious. Trying to survive in this area on so little is next to impossible. Also, TJs puts its profit above employee safety. I don't think we've had a day in years when everyone has been at work in good condition. I've had everything from facial stitches to crushed legs. I'm currently on Workers Comp., and I am wary of going back unless the conditions are actually changed. The cute little drawings with safety slogans don't do much good if there's no follow through from management. It can be cliquey. There is a lot of imbalance in productivity. Moving up in position usually means sacrificing your whole extra curricular life. Because pay and benefits have decreased, there are fewer people interested in making that sort of sacrifice, and the managers we currently have have gotten lackluster. I don't think many places are better---all grocery stores are overpackaged---but the environmental footprint is massive, and it makes me ill watching TJs promote itself as some sort of eco friendly place to shop. Some of our resuable bags are plastic shipped from Asia.