Workers Reveal What It's Really Like To Work At Kroger

When it comes to customer experience, Kroger is king. A 2022 report by online management company Qualtrics has the stats to prove it. Customers are happy with the store, but how is the employee experience at Kroger (and Kroger-owned stores like Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Smith's, etc.)? The Cincinnati-born grocery chain employs 465,000 workers in 2,742 stores across the US (via Macrotrends and Statista). Though the chain added social distancing policies and asked for its workers to be classified as emergency personnel to try to protect them during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn't always seem to act in its workers' best interest. 

For example, in 2021, Kroger shut down seven stores in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Long Beach, The Guardian reports. The closure of stores in each of these locations came right after hazard pay ordinances (an extra of $5 per hour for all its employees in LA and $4 per hour in Seattle and Long Beach) were passed in the three cities, and the closures were viewed by employees as a way for the company to avoid paying higher wages. Clearly, working at Kroger has its ups and downs. Here's what the employees have to say about working at this Fortune 500 company, both good and bad.

For some employees, their work schedule is a cause for stress — the hours are erratic, and every day is different. A study based on a survey of over 10,200 Kroger employees revealed that a majority of them didn't have a fixed schedule. In fact, for a quarter of the employees, the news about schedule changes was conveyed the same day or one day beforehand (via Economic Roundtable). 

With schedules as unpredictable as a lottery win, hourly workers (not just at Kroger) often struggle to achieve any work-life balance or spend time with family and friends, per a report published on Center for Policy Initiatives. The report was based on a survey of 2,800 hourly workers in San Diego county. The workers said that employers cared little about their rest time and that if they ever did bring up a request for a schedule change there were often retaliations. 

While unpredictability is one thing, the Economic Roundtable survey also found that about three-quarters of Kroger employees feel that there are not enough workers at their stores. Many think of their stint at Kroger as just a short-term job and not as a career opportunity. The turnover rate at the chain is quite high — it has increased four times since the beginning of the pandemic.

Whether an employee can comfortably sit and eat their lunch in a break room depends on the store. According to posters on Reddit, some Kroger store break rooms are small and unhygienic, while others are huge with "2 couches, a TV, 2 tables, a fridge, 4 vending machines, a Keurig, a toaster, a microwave, and lockers." 

The pandemic changed the break rooms at some Krogers, with management encouraging employees to social-distance instead of taking their breaks crowded together in the same cramped room. A Kroger employee told Reddit, "The managers said, 'take your break in your car.' Umm like 50% of our employees do not own cars ...i s it illegal to not provide a space to take your break? Are we supposed to eat standing up in a cluster? We have many employees that are old/disabled and need to sit." In another Kroger store, "they allowed 3 people in the break room, so they set up 3 small tables in a checkerboard pattern," wrote an employee.

To maintain a healthy work environment, CDC, among other guidelines, had suggested removing some of the chairs in break rooms and finding alternative places to take breaks so employees could spread out. It seems that some Kroger stores took that advice a little too far, leaving a sea of room for social distancing and zero room to sit and rest. 

Kroger asks its employees not to wear clothes, hats, or masks with logos, words, or abbreviations (via Zippia). They are also supposed to wear a Kroger-supplied blue apron at all times. But who is watching? According to some Kroger employees, there are no strict dress code watchdogs at the store. One employee told Reddit, "I can see most employees I see every day not following the rules of our dress codes like I see my supervisor is wearing jeans with holes and other employees wearing large logos on their hoodies which you're not supposed to." Another employee chimed in saying employees in their store, as well, wore clothes with big logos and hats endorsing a certain sports team. 

The Reddit thread indicates that employees seem pretty lax about sporting Kroger's blue apron as well; some call it a workplace hazard. As one employee wrote, "It (the apron) led to me getting stuck on something and almost crushed between 2 incoming rickety pallets" The apron, in the past, has also brought in some legal trouble for the grocery chain. In 2019, Kroger introduced aprons with a colorful embroidered heart on them as part of its dress code (the heart may symbolize Kroger's corporate values). Two employees refused to wear it, saying that the heart promoted LGBTQ pride and didn't sit well with their religious beliefs. A lawsuit was filed against Kroger after the company fired the two for not abiding the dress code. 

The topic of vaccination has been a hot potato for a while now. The proposed vaccine mandate for employers with over 100 workers was struck down in a Supreme Court ruling. Despite the lack of a government mandate, many organizations, including Kroger, encouraged employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The chain gave away $100 to those who got vaccinated. 

Kroger also introduced some penalties for unvaccinated employees. None of the unvaccinated employees are eligible for Kroger's special paid leave for COVID-19, though they can still use their normal sick days if they become ill. Salaried employees who are enrolled in the company's healthcare plan are required to pay a $50 health insurance surcharge if they remain unvaccinated, writes U.S. News & World Report. Employees who are part of the union (nearly 66% of Kroger's workforce) and hourly employees are exempt from paying the fee. 

Korger is not alone in incentivizing vaccination among its workers. Other companies that also introduced similar surcharges for their unvaccinated employees include Delta Airlines, JP Morgan Chase, and grocery chain Harmons. Some others like United Airlines and Google threatened to fire the employees who refused to get vaccinated (via Fortune).

Though Kroger seems to be investing a lot in training its employees — building large training centers (via Shelby Report), setting up a full-fledged culinary institute (via Supermarket Perimeter) and launching an online program with personalized training modules, not all employees feel equipped to start ringing in items on their first day at work. Said an employee on Reddit, "I've been in the bakery for two months and feel like I have no clue what I'm doing half the time. Maybe the other departments are better but I had almost no training besides the tons of videos I watched that aren't relevant to my job." 

The training, as mentioned on Kroger Forum, has in the past included two sections: "Intro to Kroger" and "Connecting with Customers." These classes are sometimes taught at various regional training centers. Employees say the training is not relevant or helpful to handling the real challenges at the store. One of the employees called the training a "joke," and another said, "Kroger training method is usually just throw you to the wolves and hope for the best. When I started I got to shadow an old cashier for a while, but then the store got busy so I was left with just the bagger to help me out" (via Reddit).

Working in the bakery at Kroger isn't easy. Sure, you get to spend an entire day surrounded by the smell of warm cookies and bread, but it's also a lot of work — and not the kind that pushes you to handle icing spatulas like "Cake Boss." It's more likely that you'll be asked to heat frozen bakery items with precision. 

A bakery manager at Kroger told Reddit that they start their day at 4 am by with baking the bread, turnovers, muffins and pies; proofing the bread and rolls; and preparing the donuts — all by 6 am before the store opens. If you are on the closing shift, wrote another Kroger baker, you have to set up donuts for the morning, clean the floor, slice breads, and update the markdowns. But hey, you can get a free donut for your troubles. Per an employee on Reddit, "I usually get to snack on any food that is missing a label or won't be put out for sale due to the quantity of the item being inaccurate or the quality too damaged. My cake decorator also has allowed me to eat slices of cakes/cheesecakes that she was going to throw out due to its shelf life being up (they're still just as good as when it's put in)," added the employee.