When the risk normalizes, the pay can be normalized. Until then, front line workers deserve some kind of premium over normal risk level working conditions.

I believe all retailers should keep paying their employees the extra pay a lot longer. They have been essential since day one, and they are still putting their health on the line every day they work.

Has the frontline work become less hazardous? I don’t think so. Increasing wages was the right thing to do during the height of the pandemic and the companies that did increase wages were held up as exemplars of how to treat employees. However grocery/essential goods retailers operate in a low margin environment that cannot absorb a significant, across-the-board wage increase and maintain sufficient profitability. It was inevitable that these extra pay programs would come to an end, but now the optics will make this problematic. Does the reduction in pay mean that frontline workers are no longer heroes? Does it mean that the work environment is safe now? I think the answer is no to both. Kroger took the lead and I believe others will follow.

It would be a nice gesture to keep wages higher. However, while sales have risen sharply for most grocers, profits have not and the higher cost of doing business has taken its toll. As much as I would like to see frontline grocery workers paid more, sound economics do need to prevail at some point. However, that point is not now when we are still in the middle of the crisis.

From a social perspective, they, like first responders, don’t get paid nearly enough. From a capitalist perspective, with unemployment as high as it is, wages are going to decline in many places. As long as stores refuse to force mask-wearing or social distancing, (hello, Kroger) their workers need hazard pay. At places that do enforce the rules, wage supply and demand is going to take over.

And everyone watches what a Kroger or a Walmart does and follows along – some lead, most follow.

So it took less than two months. I don’t know if anyone should be surprised that this has ended. But I am somewhat surprised it is ending so soon. I don’t see any less risk compared to eight weeks ago. No therapeutics yet, no vaccine. If anything the risk has been going up with reopening and some people refusing to wear masks.

But then we are a capitalist country. It’s a demand/supply equation. But decisions like these will have an impact on consumer psyche, as negative press is very likely. So Kroger and others that will follow soon should be careful.

There is no doubt that grocery employees are putting themselves in a risky environment at work by interacting with the general public, as not all customers are taking the proper precautions. Giving these employees extra pay for “hazardous” duty is the right thing to do, however, it probably isn’t viable to continue the extra pay forever. The timing of when to discontinue may depend on the status of each specific state. Using a factual data-driven decision-making process may make the most sense, such as when the new COVID-19 cases drop for a number of days or reach a low threshold.

All of us that have worked in the grocery retailing and wholesaling business know margins are very thin. However, during this time of absolute need (and big sales increases for the retailers) the higher wages should continue. These workers are risking themselves and their families by coming into work everyday to help feed America. I was surprised and somewhat shocked Kroger made this move this early in pandemic. This was a mistake, especially when you consider Walmart and others are extending the higher wages. In the end, the workers will decide where to work and they will remember and recognize with loyalty the retailers that have stood by them.

Grocers can start withdrawing their “hero bonus” when the pandemic is over. It isn’t.

Kroger and its peers knew the pay increase was temporary, yet didn’t communicate an end date up front to manage expectations. In addition, the crisis is far from over, so removing hazard pay now raises many questions about how much these companies actually care about their frontline workers. The lack of transparency and poor communication is turning what was a PR coup into a PR disaster, and much of the good will earned has been lost. Other companies need to take note.

It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and award these great workers money out of other people’s pockets, but we have to remember that even with the dramatic volume increases grocery is still a penny or two per dollar net income business. Supermarket operators are very well aware of the additional profit they’ve earned. They also know the cost for those extra earnings. If they’re transparent with their team members and reward them based on added output, the workers, shoppers and the community will be more than satisfied.

It has to continue. Hopefully Kroger just needs some adjustment time to catch-up to the evolving pandemic timing.

Nobody even understands all the risks yet. Having said that, it’s up to us, the “experts” and the consumers to understand that all this is going to cost us more.

Being a retailer got more expensive – cleaning, PPE, and bonuses to frontline staff are all expenses that need to get covered, without even starting to think about supply shortages and how that impacts prices.

Grocery workers earned and will continue to deserve an acknowledgment of the risks they continue to take hour-by-hour and day-by-day in the form of pay, not praise. I shop at my local Kroger store and I am disappointed to learn this. I see the weariness on the faces of the employees all the while as they present a caring experience for each customer. As communities begin to open the unknown risks to grocery workers could actually be more severe. I personally would pay more in food costs to support the continued bravery of grocery workers. Corporate execs at Kroger, Safeway, Amazon, and others are exhibiting a level of detachment only solved by working the grocery floor himself or herself as a grocery worker.

These workers have been deemed “essential” like first responders and healthcare workers. They have become heroes because they have “hung in there” while providing these essential services. Going forward, post-pandemic, they may no longer be viewed as heroes, but will continue to be essential and should be compensated accordingly.

A two dollar per hour permanent increase is not going to break any grocer. These people need a living wage. The benefits mentioned as part of the hourly wage calculation doesn’t mention that between 30 percent to 50 percent of these workers are part-time with little or no benefit coverage. It’s time we recognize the value of everyone in our personal ecosystem and reward them accordingly.

I told you so–there, I said it. When these TEMPORARY bonuses were first discussed on RetailWire I questioned what would happen when this day comes. Well, it’s here now.

It’s a horrible message to frontline workers that “we only really value you when there’s an emergency and we have to.” That’s what the cessation of bonus pay means.

So what will the criteria going forward be that determines what a “crisis” is, who gets what pay, and for how long?

The problem across all of retail is that to the C-suite, frontline = low-level = expendable.

Just look at Instacart’s CEO’s attitude. When there was a threat that 50,000 Instacart shoppers would strike over the lack of personal protective equipment, he stated that there were 300,000 applicants looking to onboard.

If retail (grocery and other) want to operate consistently and with team members that will step up without hesitation, whatever the situation is, (as we’ve said here for years), management has to start paying them appropriately and create career positions rather than just jobs.

The retail industry and grocery in particular have always had high employee turnover. Despite the value provided, the current economy, especially with loss of jobs in the transportation and hospitality industry (think Uber or Hilton) will have many workers ready to step into the grocery retail space with little job specialist skills needed. Everyone is learning as they go. Although disappointing from a purely economical point of view, there is excess manpower — even for risky jobs. The PR backlash is the key concern, but while consumers are thinking about themselves and their own health, it’s unlikely that the PR backlash will be substantial. However for companies that do take the long term view, they will be rewarded with a workforce that will be highly loyal and committed to great service and delivery. Companies like Costco – who already compensated their employees well – and perhaps in the future Walmart and other retailers can boast a higher level of talent ROI and lower turnover.

Grocery, like most of retail, is built on an architecture of minimum wage workers. COVID-19 is accelerating a change that was already underway — a shift to technology-driven stores with fewer but more critical employees who deserve greater than minimum wage. Kroger and Walmart and Target and many others already exceed federal and state minimum wage guidelines. Now that frontline workers are viewed as essential the framework for paying associate salaries will have to be restructured and new criteria developed.

During the COVID-19 period, the public has realized the value of the grocery supermarket workers who have for many years been one of the lowest respected groups and whose pay very much reflected this. Grocers need to appreciate that they have very loyal and dedicated workers who can make a real difference to their business. Walmart once again gets it right as they have throughout this tough period. The increase should change from being a hero’s bonus to being a standard for the industry. This epidemic is not going away any time soon and retailers need to retain the loyalty of this group, it will pay off and prove a good investment.

A great article came out over the weekend. And it indicates that while shoppers are likely quite safe, store help are the ones running the risk of getting sick. Until that’s no longer the case, combat pay should continue.

And I highly recommend this article which summarized hard research into physical situations where COVID-19 passes.

Well from a different angle, restarting the economy means encouraging and restarting spending. At the risk of starting a political maelstrom — paying more to lower income earners means nearly 100 percent of the increased wages go out into the economy vs. tax breaks to the higher income earners which do not all flow out. So paying a living wage also helps get the rest of the economy moving. That’s the original Ford model and it works.

Due to the utter failure of a cohesive US Federal response — e.g. testing protocols and availability of such tools required to make localized informed decisions (unlike any other country on earth), the burden now falls on business leaders.

As a result, grocery retailers and CPG manufacturers (including COVID-19 “hot zone” meat packing plants) are now left to deal with the bifurcated and politically charged local (State) regulations — with really no choice, but to extend “Hero Pay” simply because of the level of uncertainty that still remains.

I am answering the question a little differently. Once again, Walmart is smarter than most of the industry. When you give someone a pay increase, you have set a new standard even if the increase is supposed just to be temporary. It will be very hard and bad PR to take back the pay hike. Walmart did not give an increase in the hourly rate. They gave a bonus. They did not change the basic concept of what they were paying.