11 Things That Changed When I Quit Working In Retail

As of three weeks ago, I no longer work in retail. I was very lucky to find a paying internship for the summer so with great sadness I put in my two weeks and moved on from my sales associate job title. I’ll always remember my retail experience fondly (because of my amazing co-workers and managers, customers generally suck tbh), but I have noticed some pretty interesting changes since I started my office job.

1. Missing the Group Chat

I never thought I would miss being bombarded with notifications but man do I miss the staff group chat. There’s nothing better than complaining about customers and catching up on work drama with all your co-workers.

2. Less Movement

No longer do I walk laps around a store for hours, instead I sit at my desk and stare at the computer.

3. Work-Out More

A side effect of sitting down all day is that I’m much more willing to work out now. I used to never want to go to work with sore legs because I knew how much you move around in retail. But now, being sore isn’t as inconvenient.

4. Make-up

Don’t wear it anymore. There’s no longer the pressure to have my physical appearance match up with a store’s branding. Which is awesome because I can sleep later and my skin is happier.

5. Weekends

I get full weekends off now and its amazing! No more weekend crowds and more pool time for me.

6. Free Time

Yet even with weekends off, I have a lot less free time during the day. Working standard hours instead of retail shifts has been an adjustment but hey, I’ll get used to it.

7. Customer Service Voice

My awful, high pitched retail voice is gone for good. Plus I no longer have to interact with strangers constantly which is a plus.

8. Defender of Retail Workers

Another side-effect of not having to be nice to people to keep my job is that I can now call people out for being rude to retail workers. Something I could never do when I was one. I may have moved on but I still have your back.

9. No More Holiday Dread

I could finally enjoy Memorial Day this year instead of dreading it. In the retail world, holidays mean tons of customers and extra-long shifts. But in office job world, I got a three day weekend.

10. Less Socialization

I sit in my cubicle all day so I don’t really talk to my co-workers as often as I did on the sales floor. Plus since I’m an intern there’s not as many people my age in the office.

11. Goodbye Discount

Unfortunately there’s no employee discounts at an office job. Which is probably good for my wallet but I’m still sad about it.