Retail and the holiday....

So, by now many of you have heard about some Wal-Mart employees planning to walk out of work on Black Friday in protest of the store being open on Thanksgiving.  In some respects, I agree with their initiative, but in others I don't.  You see, it stinks that my husband has to go into work at 5 pm on Thanksgiving Day and work until 2 am.  I would much rather he be home with myself and my daughter and be able to go with us to a friends house for Thanksgiving Dinner.  This is our first holiday living in Tennessee and our immediate families will not be here to celebrate.  So, we were invited to share Thanksgiving with my old high school friend and his family over in Knoxville.  I feel horrible that I am going without Jeff and it saddens me that I feel so guilty about it.  I understand that he chose to get a job in retail (in actuallity, he took whatever job he could get in order to bring money into the home).  But I also remember a time when nothing was open on Thanksgiving.  Stores were dark and everyone was home with their families.  Perhaps if they could wait a little later to open - like maybe 10 pm??? 

I don't know the solution - big business will always be looking to make more money - and this is the most profitable time of year for retailers.  But at what price? Politicians talk constantly about "family values" - maybe family values need to be instilled in more businesses?  Happy Workers = high productivity & job loyalty.   Family values is just one of the reasons why I love my job.  My employer puts a lot into ensuring work-life-family balance. I do think, however, that we need to go back to those times when stores were closed on Sundays and Holidays - I think that it would say a lot for famiy values.