Home Depot Mandates Corporate Staff to Work Retail Shifts

The initiative aims to enhance corporate employees' understanding of frontline challenges by requiring them to work in-store each quarter.

Home Depot will require corporate employees, including senior management and remote workers, to work an eight-hour shift in a retail store every quarter.
The program, which revives a pre-pandemic practice, is designed to help corporate staff better understand the daily challenges faced by retail associates.
CEO Ted Decker emphasized the importance of staying connected to the company's core business and supporting retail staff.
The move comes amid a sales slump following a pandemic-driven home improvement boom and increased labor activism.
Software developers and other corporate employees have reacted positively, seeing it as a chance to improve customer-facing aspects of their work.