Dollar General scheduling leaves new hires with one day
A worker who had been on the job about two and a half months posted that they were being scheduled only one day per week while a store manager worked about 48 hours. The report and responses from current and former employees highlight unpredictable hour allocations that affect paychecks, childcare plans, and workers ability to take secondary employment.
On December 1 a newly hired Dollar General employee posted that after roughly two and a half months on the payroll they were being scheduled only one day per week, while the store manager was scheduled for about 48 hours a week. The poster said the manager was bringing in former Rite Aid staff and that hours were being shared across nearby stores, a pattern that left their schedule unpredictable and insufficient to cover basic bills or reliably book side work.
Several current and former Dollar General employees responded to the post confirming the pattern. They described situations in which part time hires receive only one inconsistent day each week, while managers and a small group of key employees take the bulk of available hours. Commenters framed the practice as common in low wage retail, where scheduling tends to follow seniority and manager preferences, and advised new hires to press managers for more stable guaranteed hours or consider other employers.
Workers described concrete impacts on household finances and daily logistics. Unpredictable hours make it difficult to create household budgets, secure childcare appointments, or commit to secondary gigs that could supplement earnings. Several responses characterized the absence of predictable minimum hours as a barrier to retention and a source of frustration on the floor.
The thread points to broader scheduling challenges at Dollar General stores, including uneven distribution of hours, sharing shifts across nearby locations, and concentrated hour allocations to managers. These practices can undermine store staffing stability by leaving newer or part time employees with unreliable incomes, increasing turnover risks, and complicating coverage when key employees are unavailable.
For workers, the immediate consequences are lost income and greater difficulty balancing work with other responsibilities. For store operations, the uneven approach to scheduling can create gaps in coverage and erode morale. The post and ensuing discussion provide a worker level snapshot of how scheduling decisions on the ground translate into financial and logistical strain for hourly employees.
