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Another good thing about Aldi is that they let their cashiers sit down. It's unethical that other grocery chains don't provide chairs for their cashiers.

mc32 3y ago
Isn’t sitting less healthy than standing? Though, I agree, there should be stools. I see fatigued old timers at the registers who look like they could use a respit.
- kerkeslager 3y ago
  I'd posit that neither is particularly healthy. Keep in mind that "standing" in this case means standing in one place on a hard floor. If you're comparing to the typical tech worker standing-desk setup, most such workers have done a lot to get the ergonomics of that setup correct, i.e. getting surfaces and screens at the right heights and adding a pad to stand on, whereas the ergonomics of a cashier station are geared toward the customer, not the cashier. You could address this partly by adding pads to standing surfaces. There's a larger problem here though, which is that the evidence behind standing desks being beneficial is... not good. There's lots of evidence that sitting is bad, but only in comparison to not sitting. That hides the fact that "not sitting" includes a lot of different kinds of standing--walking around is not the same as standing in one place. What studies we have of standing desks document back and leg pain as a possible side effect, and that's usually the best case of standing in one place. If there are any studies of standing in one place on a hard floor for hours, I'm not aware of them, but I'm not convinced that particular case of "not sitting" is much better than sitting. In short, the problem with sitting is probably that you're not moving, not the particular position in which you don't move. Talk to your cashier, ask how long they've been working there and if they experience pain from standing, and with the exception of new employees or employees under, maybe 25ish, I can almost guarantee the answer will be "yes".
- bombcar 3y ago
  Sitting also provides a very clear indicator to the customer that the cashier is NOT going to walk around the corner and bag their items for them. Everywhere else with standing cashiers that I know of (besides banks, which more and more have stooled or sitting tellers) have a mat to stand on and will bag.
  - kerkeslager 3y ago
    > Sitting also provides a very clear indicator to the customer that the cashier is NOT going to walk around the corner and bag their items for them. The cashiers at the Aldi near me bag the items from a seated position. There's a "lazy Susan"-style rotating platform with 3 bag dispensers on it. They place the items in the bag and facing the chair they're in, and when the bag is full, rotate the platform to face the full bag toward the customer. There's also usually someone else on the floor to help if a customer needs help placing the bags in their cart.
johnbellone 3y ago
Is "unethical" really the correct word here?
- faeriechangling 3y ago
  Yes, I know grocery chains which harassed their cashiers to stand because of customer complaints even when they had a doctors note and were suffering from real physical ailments that made it painful to stand, and standing delayed their recoveries. Unethical is an apt word. If I see cashiers seated that’s a place I want to shop. It signals that they care about their workers.
- kerkeslager 3y ago
  Yes. Most people are physically harmed by standing on hard floors for 8 hours a day. There is no conscionable reason for doing this to your workers.
balderdash 3y ago
I had a job where i had to stand in one place all day - definitely hard the first couple of weeks - you adapt (+find comfy shoes), I would have never characterized it as unethical, and its probably a lot healthier...
- kerkeslager 3y ago
  > I had a job where i had to stand in one place all day - definitely hard the first couple of weeks - you adapt (+find comfy shoes) How old were you? Keep in mind that younger people are able to adapt to physical stresses. > its probably a lot healthier... That's not in evidence.
  - balderdash 3y ago
    And the evidence that sitting all day is good for you is?

mc32 3y ago

Isn’t sitting less healthy than standing? Though, I agree, there should be stools. I see fatigued old timers at the registers who look like they could use a respit.

kerkeslager 3y ago
I'd posit that neither is particularly healthy. Keep in mind that "standing" in this case means standing in one place on a hard floor. If you're comparing to the typical tech worker standing-desk setup, most such workers have done a lot to get the ergonomics of that setup correct, i.e. getting surfaces and screens at the right heights and adding a pad to stand on, whereas the ergonomics of a cashier station are geared toward the customer, not the cashier. You could address this partly by adding pads to standing surfaces. There's a larger problem here though, which is that the evidence behind standing desks being beneficial is... not good. There's lots of evidence that sitting is bad, but only in comparison to not sitting. That hides the fact that "not sitting" includes a lot of different kinds of standing--walking around is not the same as standing in one place. What studies we have of standing desks document back and leg pain as a possible side effect, and that's usually the best case of standing in one place. If there are any studies of standing in one place on a hard floor for hours, I'm not aware of them, but I'm not convinced that particular case of "not sitting" is much better than sitting. In short, the problem with sitting is probably that you're not moving, not the particular position in which you don't move. Talk to your cashier, ask how long they've been working there and if they experience pain from standing, and with the exception of new employees or employees under, maybe 25ish, I can almost guarantee the answer will be "yes".
bombcar 3y ago
Sitting also provides a very clear indicator to the customer that the cashier is NOT going to walk around the corner and bag their items for them. Everywhere else with standing cashiers that I know of (besides banks, which more and more have stooled or sitting tellers) have a mat to stand on and will bag.
- kerkeslager 3y ago
  > Sitting also provides a very clear indicator to the customer that the cashier is NOT going to walk around the corner and bag their items for them. The cashiers at the Aldi near me bag the items from a seated position. There's a "lazy Susan"-style rotating platform with 3 bag dispensers on it. They place the items in the bag and facing the chair they're in, and when the bag is full, rotate the platform to face the full bag toward the customer. There's also usually someone else on the floor to help if a customer needs help placing the bags in their cart.

johnbellone 3y ago

Is "unethical" really the correct word here?

faeriechangling 3y ago
Yes, I know grocery chains which harassed their cashiers to stand because of customer complaints even when they had a doctors note and were suffering from real physical ailments that made it painful to stand, and standing delayed their recoveries. Unethical is an apt word. If I see cashiers seated that’s a place I want to shop. It signals that they care about their workers.
kerkeslager 3y ago
Yes. Most people are physically harmed by standing on hard floors for 8 hours a day. There is no conscionable reason for doing this to your workers.

balderdash 3y ago

I had a job where i had to stand in one place all day - definitely hard the first couple of weeks - you adapt (+find comfy shoes), I would have never characterized it as unethical, and its probably a lot healthier...

kerkeslager 3y ago
> I had a job where i had to stand in one place all day - definitely hard the first couple of weeks - you adapt (+find comfy shoes) How old were you? Keep in mind that younger people are able to adapt to physical stresses. > its probably a lot healthier... That's not in evidence.
- balderdash 3y ago
  And the evidence that sitting all day is good for you is?