Statement of the trade union organization regarding changes to work in the Market Hall (Salt and Pepper project)
As of 1 January 2026, there has been a change in the job responsibilities of Market Hall employees at the Černý Most store. This project was intended to make employees' work easier, support Active Selling, improve the preparation of locations for Fill Up, and enhance overall stock handling.
Employees were divided into two groups: those wearing yellow T-shirts and those wearing blue T-shirts.
Employees in yellow T-shirts are primarily expected to focus on customers, support Active Selling, and take care of their respective departments. Employees in blue T-shirts are responsible for preparing locations for deliveries, removing cartons, ordering goods from SGF, conducting the morning handover with Fill Up, distributing misplaced items, checking SLM parameters, capacities and locations, collecting returns from Recovery, transporting low-stock goods to home departments, preparing locations for incoming goods (A-items), and transferring goods to HLP and other departments.
However, after two and a half months since the introduction of this project, the situation is highly unsatisfactory. Employees are frustrated, confused, tired, demotivated, and the project has a negative impact on the overall workplace atmosphere. According to the trade union organization, this change is also reflected in the store's sales performance.
What previously worked well within departments—mutual support, sharing of information from the previous day, a sense of belonging, and teamwork—has significantly weakened.
Departments are now characterized by chaos, uncertainty, lack of information, and frequent misunderstandings. At the same time, trust is deteriorating both among colleagues and towards management.
A fundamental cause of this situation is the shortage of employees in blue T-shirts. Their number is insufficient to ensure that each HFB has a stable presence of one blue T-shirt employee, ideally from their "home" HFB. Such an employee is familiar with their department, the breadth of the assortment, key articles, understands how capacities should be set for specific goods and why, is oriented in UTG, and knows how these will be handled going forward.
If a blue T-shirt employee is assigned to an HFB other than their home one, they often lack sufficient knowledge of the assortment, as well as of location settings and capacities. In practice, this leads to repeated operational questions directed at yellow T-shirt employees. As a result, processes slow down, the workload on department employees increases, and the original purpose of dividing roles between positions is undermined.
If a blue T-shirt employee is absent due to illness or vacation, the entire project collapses. The yellow T-shirt employee then takes over their responsibilities and performs all tasks as was the case before the project was introduced.
It is unclear how long store management intends to keep this project in operation, especially at a time when sales are declining—particularly offline sales—and competition for customers is increasing. Based on the above, it is evident that the project in its current form does not deliver the expected improvements in work processes nor support employees in their daily work. On the contrary, it leads to increased workload, uncertainty regarding employee roles, and a deterioration of the working environment in Market Hall departments.
We are also uncertain about the impact of this situation on achieving Bonus targets, as well as on Ishare results and the Happy Customer Score.
The trade union organization therefore considers it essential that the functioning of this project be thoroughly evaluated based on real employee experience from practice. At the same time, if the project is to continue, it is necessary to open a discussion on its setup so that any adjustments lead to genuine improvements in working conditions and departmental operations.
The trade union organization is ready to actively participate in this process and, together with management, seek a solution that will be functional and sustainable in the long term.
Together for better conditions
ZO UZO IKEA Stores Czech Republic
Employee responses from the Market Hall to the survey questions
Does this change in the way of working make sense in your opinion (i.e. dividing tasks within the Market Hall between employees into active selling and ensuring the flow of goods)?
Yes – 1 employee
No – 20 employees
In your opinion, what positive outcomes has this change brought, and what do you perceive as its advantages?
Nothing
If someone is missing from the shift in the department, others help with bringing and removing misplaced items, etc.
I do not perceive anything beneficial in this system
Absolutely nothing
Unfortunately nothing
Nothing – I have not found anything positive or beneficial about it
I see nothing positive in this change
Nothing positive
I don't know
Nothing positive! Everything worked for years before this, for as long as I've been working here!
I can't think of anything
No advantages
So far I don't know… maybe that I can focus only on logistics and the customer (both blue and yellow are approached by customers), or on the department visual and the customer – otherwise nothing comes to mind
Less work for the yellow team
Easier workload for the yellow team
That misplaced items are cleared in the morning and one person handles recovery
So far I haven't found any
Unfortunately, I have not found any positives
In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to the proper functioning of this change?
Chaos
Employees from other departments are not able to fully ensure the preparation of locations for the next day
Too few employees. Someone is always missing. And on Saturdays, having three people for two departments is absolutely inadequate
Long-established systems are being changed, and for the worse
Communication, higher workload, chaos, morning handover, stress and conflicts, working hours – for example, colleagues used to be more flexible in covering for each other within their own department
Too few employees, significantly more responsibilities, poor work organization
Poor division of job responsibilities
Lack of employees for the given tasks, poor coordination of work, poorly set task distribution, and lack of management's understanding of the full scope of work in departments
Poor division of responsibilities among employees from different departments
The blue team is overloaded while the yellow team is underutilized, and in the end the yellow team still helps the blue team anyway, otherwise the work would not get done
Working hours, higher workload. More colleagues feel stressed about being assigned to other departments
One person cannot handle truck deliveries alone, and the yellow team still has to help. Moreover, it was promised that age would be taken into account when assigning roles, but in the end, as an older employee, I have to work shifts in cookware, which I physically cannot manage
Chaos in shift planning
Too few employees on shift, lack of knowledge of product locations across all departments. Everyone does things their own way
The established routines are not being followed. Everyone leaves work whenever they want
Poor organization across departments
Sometimes there is a lack of staff on shift, leading to delays and making it very demanding for the blue team. Without help from the yellow team, the blue team would not manage on busy days (which undermines the purpose of splitting into teams and brings things back to how they were before)
Working in pairs in the department simply worked better. There is no need to elaborate. There have been some good changes in the workplace, such as moving away from paper A-cards, which I highly appreciate. But this particular change is a step backwards
Lack of employees and, above all, insufficient knowledge of the assortment and of the processes within individual departments
In your opinion, what is currently not working?
Not much has really changed; we still have to handle everything ourselves
Proper shift planning is not working
Morning coordination with Fill Up, helping colleagues from other departments – constantly moving between departments, communication (phones and passing information to specific teams across the store)
Morning handover, customer service, increased stress, վատ mood across the entire Market Hall – I think it worked much better before this change
Attendance and task distribution
It does not work as a whole
Flexibility
Employees are nervous and frustrated because they have to work in other departments they are unfamiliar with; communication between them has worsened; it is difficult to find replacements in case of illness; when there is a large number of locations to prepare, it is hard to manage multiple departments, so the yellow team still has to help. Time is lost waiting for task allocation, then again when moving between departments and figuring out what needs to be done, and there is also chaos in handovers
Reassess staffing levels of the blue team on weekends
Scheduling so that both blue and yellow teams are fully staffed – someone is constantly stepping in and helping elsewhere
Communication with Fill Up – sales staff only start at 9:30 a.m., so they cannot properly exchange information about goods. Overall chaos. We cannot know the entire Market Hall! Shifts are sometimes three days on, one day off, then three days again, and sometimes working weekends alone because several colleagues are sick – this simply does not work
Work is being divided artificially, even though we were used to helping each other within the department; now too much work falls on one person
Lack of staff on weekends, when the most preparation and selling is needed
The blue & yellow system does not yet work in a way that would make our jobs easier (which was the original goal) or allow employees to focus more on sales. There are fewer of us in the department and customers have to wait. For a yellow team member to maintain order, they still need to check the system to know what is coming, where the blue team has prepared space, and where items can be placed or moved
According to the original setup of the blue and yellow teams – nothing works
Swapping shifts within one's own department
- It is more demanding for employees commuting by public transport from distant towns or villages. The new working hours for the blue team often do not align, so they arrive late to almost every shift.
- Some shifts are more demanding for the blue team than others, and tasks are often not completed without help from the yellow team (especially when one person is responsible for two departments due to staff shortages or sudden absences). This again reverts to how things were before the team split, making the system pointless.
- Due to task division, employees can no longer choose what they will do during the day or agree with colleagues. Previously, it was possible to divide tasks based on preference; now everything falls on one person without the option to share tasks. This applies to both teams—blue must prepare all locations, while yellow must handle all adjustments and streamer placement
Unfortunately, the system is fragmented. Previously, having two people in a department meant coordination and support, and everything was managed better. Employees knew their departments well. If the blue team moves between departments with such a wide assortment, it leads to mistakes and unnecessary stress, as well as imbalance in task distribution
Knowledge of individual departments and assortments is lacking, and each department has its own routines, which are significantly disrupted by this change
In your opinion, what should be changed for this way of working to function better?
Completely separate the two teams – the blue team should be part of logistics and Fill Up, or return to the original way of working
Use rational thinking when planning shifts
There should always be a representative in each department in the morning for cooperation with Fill Up. Everyone needs to have an overview anyway, so the division loses its meaning. If I don't know a department, I cannot perform fully, which impacts the customer experience. I would suggest being responsible mainly for one's own department plus only a few additional ones (as in previous flexing). Some people do not want to flex at all—it stresses them
Return everything to how it was. When I am in another department, I don't feel comfortable, and it affects my performance. We applied for our home departments because we have a relationship with the products, and that is reflected in our work. IKEA states that it wants not only satisfied customers but also satisfied employees (an unsatisfied employee means an unsatisfied customer), and recently this has not been achieved
Return to the original division of tasks
Terminate this project and thoroughly assess the real needs of employees and customers
Keep employees in the departments they are familiar with and where they have the necessary knowledge to help customers
Cancel the blue and yellow teams and return everything back. Previously, everyone immediately knew what and when to do, people could easily coordinate, and there was no need to search for someone "blue" or "yellow." Employees within one department had a better overview of their work steps, and shift swaps were easier. Changes are good for company progress, but what works well should not be changed without a strong reason
Keep it as it was
Return to how it was—it worked. Every day we are confused about whether we are blue or yellow. We are supposed to be one team, but that is not working at all. Instead, we argue about shifts and roles
Return everything to the old, proven system (two employees per department)
Return to the previous system. Alternatively, someone from Market Hall could start earlier to handle misplaced items, and in the evening someone could stay longer for the same purpose
Nothing
More employees per shift, better connection of the blue team (e.g. in team structure), and flexing between departments should have been implemented before launching this system
A different concept
Employees who understand their department should not be scheduled into departments they know nothing about and cannot assist customers in
It works in some departments and not in others
It depends on the department
Return to the original state
Nothing comes to mind
Would you like to share any additional experience?
Not really
As a member of the blue team, I was responsible for two departments; in one of them, a member of the yellow team had to take over most of the blue team's tasks, otherwise everything would not have been completed
This change has contributed to a deterioration of conditions in the department and in the quality of customer service
If we want customers to be satisfied and receive the necessary information from us, employees should remain in departments they truly understand. The yellow team has significantly less work than the blue team. The yellow team is often made up of flex workers who lack the necessary knowledge and experience in the given department, and their work must then be handled by someone from the blue team, who already has enough of their own tasks. If we all stayed in our own departments, there would be a better chance to coordinate and organize work effectively
Not really
We are all much more stressed
I would appreciate better communication from management regarding these changes
No
I have repeatedly been responsible for two departments at the same time due to staff shortages, and it was not manageable without help. It is especially difficult when I do not know the department at all
Insufficient staffing for both morning and afternoon shifts. In previous months, everything in the department was perfectly organized and everyone knew what to do. If there is only one blue team member (which happens about 90% of the time), it is impossible for them to cover the entire department. On top of that, they have additional responsibilities such as Recovery, misplaced items, HLP, and carton removal. Especially on weekends, with a high number of customers, it is not possible to leave all the work to the blue team. Calling another blue team member for help is not feasible, as they already have enough work in their own department. It is demanding both physically and mentally—we are tired and losing motivation to come to work. There are also emerging tensions between the blue and yellow teams