Systemically relevant but not recognized?
The job of the supermarket employee also falls into this category.
A look behind the scenes at Rewe.
Neunkirchen am Sand - the alarm clock rings at 4 a.m., it is still dark outside.
A glass of water has to be enough, breakfast will be served later.
At around 5 a.m., Olga Fix unlocks the side entrance of the Rewe store in Neunkirchen, Bavaria, and some employees are already waiting in front of it.
The supermarket opens at 7 a.m., but shortly after 5 a.m., the employees start putting in the newly delivered goods: fruit and vegetables from regional farmers are piled up in boxes in the middle of the aisles, fresh bread from the bakery in the neighboring village has to be get cut.
This is followed by checking the shelf life and clearing out numerous refrigerated containers and pallets that were delivered to the warehouse overnight.
Everything under time pressure.
Rewe branch manager: "I taught myself how to cut pigs with YouTube"
Today's Rewe branch manager Olga Fix came to Germany in 1993 with four suitcases, two children and her husband from the small town of Kellerowka in Kazakhstan. Two years later she started working at Rewe, and since 2002 she has had her own Rewe store. She is actually a conductor, her training is accredited in Germany. But “conducting” in the supermarket is her dream job today, she says.
The 52-year-old boss herself works in the butcher's shop, "because nobody else wants to do that," she says with a laugh.
It is difficult enough to find staff anyway, which is why the boss does the most unpopular job.
She lifts heavy boxes from A to B, cuts open sausages.
“I taught myself how to cut pigs with YouTube”, Ms. Fix admits to
Merkur.de
.
An employee quit, it had to be done quickly.
Ms. Fix usually works six days a week.
Sometimes even at seven, for example when the green space in front of the supermarket needs maintenance or special orders are pending on Sundays.
Rewe: Supermarkets and discounters are economic winners from the pandemic
For Rewe itself, things are going well economically: supermarkets and discounters are considered the winners of the pandemic.
The Penny-Rewe-Group has more than 2,000 branches in Germany and recorded € 8.05 billion in net sales in 2020.
While the retail trade suffered and was sometimes completely closed, people bought an above-average amount at Aldi, Lidl, Rewe and Co. Although customers went shopping less often, they spent higher amounts.
An EHI study shows: The increase in sales in the supermarkets in 2020 was 13.1 percent compared to the previous year.
In general, Ms. Fix and her employees are grateful for their secure income.
But health security in the job and recognition are often neglected.
Supermarket employee: Systemically relevant, but not valued
In society, the work of supermarket employees is not valued - especially not by politics, says Ms. Fix. Working in the supermarket is hard work. At the beginning of the pandemic, customers were grateful, but that quickly evaporated. “At first, customers showed great gratitude. After all, our job is not without risk during the ongoing pandemic, ”said Ms. Fix. In addition, there was a lot more to do for the supermarket employees because of the hamster purchases.
The job of the supermarket employee is one of the systemically relevant professions from the "first hour". The German Institute for Economic Research chose this designation in an analysis from June 2020. These professional groups - which also include the health sector - are particularly poorly paid and enjoy little prestige among the population. According to the DIW study “Systemically important, but still hardly recognized”, supermarket employees receive the lowest pay for systemically important professions.
Her dearest customers are those who sometimes show understanding, says Ms. Fix.
"If our forecast system has underestimated the demand, an action is quickly gone," says the managing director as an example.
“Many customers understand that we don't produce ourselves and that we can't help it if a campaign doesn't reach our market.
But some do not understand it and come to look for a dispute. "
Working in the supermarket: "Not everyone can do the job well!"
The general belief is that everyone can do the job: “But not everyone can do the job well! It takes brains, creativity, perseverance and the right way to deal with people, ”says Olga Fix. "You have to love people." There are also opportunities for further training in the supermarket: The Rewe Academy, for example, or special training courses in the individual departments. "Anyone who works in the beverage market can, for example, do a sommelier training", explains the branch manager.
For Olga Fix, the day does not end after eight hours, but when the work is done. The good thing is that she has her family by her side: her husband and her eldest son also work in the company, which strengthens her back. Sometimes she visits the farmers in the region on her day off. Those who offer good quality will be included in the Rewe range. She prefers to spend the rest of her free time with her family, going fishing or listening to Tchaikovsky. And the next morning at 4 a.m. the alarm clock goes off again.