July Cover Story: Shaun is back at work!

On the cover this month is Shaun! Shaun is happy to be back at his work. He is working at IKEA Edinburgh and he hopes that with things slowly getting back to normal, he will be able to go for big nights out again. Here is Shaun’s blog!

Do you want to introduce yourself to fellow members and tell us more about starting your job at IKEA?

Hi, my name is Shaun and today I’m going to talk to you about my work at IKEA Edinburgh. I first started working there in 2012 and it was my first job. IKEA offered me a training course to get ready. I studied Ready For Retail at Borders College but all of the lessons were hands-on in IKEA.

Some of the courses I did were customer care, basic work skills, health and safety, answering the telephone, stock and display. It was through these courses that I really got ready for what to expect in the workplace; customer care, helping customers to locate goods, store layout, following supervisors advice, keeping my work area tidy, finding the prices of goods, stacking and handling stock correctly, using different tools and equipment; these are just some of the things I learned to do.               

My contracted hours are part time, I only work Tuesday and Wednesday.

There are lots of different shifts that people do, and lots of different departments such as the cooking shop, bedrooms, rugs, bathrooms, home organisation, lighting, home decoration, children’s IKEA, bedrooms, dining, kitchens, living rooms, restaurant and staff canteen.

I have worked in bedrooms and loose hands which means putting away all the stuff customers have left behind. 

I have to wear a uniform and a name badge too, the colour is yellow, it’s not that great. I turn up on time and clock in for my shift, then I find my supervisor who is called Gavin. 

I’ve worked in IKEA for a while and know lots of people there. I take a support worker with me and I sometimes need them to help me, but mostly I do all my work by myself, and I deal with managers, supervisors, customers and other staff independently. 

Kevin is one of my friends and he’s worked there for a while too. We are in the same team and sometimes work together. Before the pandemic, IKEA would have events for all staff, such as nights out and a big Christmas night out. All the staff get a big meal with lots of drinks. Everybody gets up for a dance, which is a good bit of fun. 

How are things now, that you are back at work?

In May 2021 I went back to work. IKEA has been really busy when we opened up the stores after the second lockdown. I guess during the lockdown everyone wanted to make their house look nice.

I use a wheelchair and I don’t have any problems getting around the store by myself. I know the building well, like all the different lifts and fire exits. Some of the shelves might be too high but I can always get somebody to help me because we’re a good team and all the other staff are friendly. 

I enjoy the customer service. There is a lot of things I need to keep in mind. I am supposed to ask how I can help them, I need to look at the customer and be polite. Once I’ve finished helping a customer I need to try and remember to say thanks, then wish them a nice day! 

What are your hopes & visions for the future?     

Now that the lockdown is easing and things are getting back to normal I hope to be able to have nights out again, some quality bonding time with my coworkers and go along to the Bight Nights Out with everyone at get2gether!