How was your shift?
Get it off your chest.
Shop floor, checkouts, fast food, pharmacy, warehouse and store managers. Put down what you're carrying before you go home.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to your employer, your manager or anyone else. Unladen Shop is a prototype. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any store, employer or government agency. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Step off the floor if you can. Tell your manager you need a few minutes. That's allowed.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If someone hurt or threatened you
It isn't part of the job and it isn't your fault. Tell your manager and make sure it's reported, even if it seems minor. Get checked if you were hurt. You can also contact police.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your manager, a workmate or your union in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your manager, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes at the end of a shift. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the door.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the abuse or aggression
Make sure it is reported, even if it seems minor. Reports are how stores get security, screens and more staff. Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim.
Your safety
You said you didn't feel fully safe. That matters. Tell your manager or supervisor, and report it through your incident system. If you open or close alone, ask for that to change.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
Retail takes a lot out of you
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
Abusive or aggressive customers
Being yelled at, sworn at, threatened or spat on is not part of the job, even when it happens every week.
Today
- Step away and get your manager or security.
- Report it, even if it seems minor.
- Get checked if you were hurt.
Over the next days
- Talk it through. It can replay for days.
- Ask what the store will do, such as security, screens or banning the customer.
- Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim, including casuals.
Shoplifting and theft
- Your safety comes first. Don't chase or physically stop a shoplifter.
- Report it and let security or police deal with it.
- Feeling shaken or angry afterwards is normal, especially if it happens a lot.
After a robbery or a weapon
- Do what they say. Things can be replaced. You can't.
- Call 000 once it is safe.
- Shock, shaking and replaying it are normal for days or weeks.
- Your employer should give you time off and support. If it's still strong after a couple of weeks, see your GP or EAP.
Sexual harassment
Comments, touching and messages from customers, workmates or managers are sexual harassment. It is never OK.
- It's not your fault, and you don't have to laugh it off.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- Employers have a legal duty to prevent sexual harassment.
- 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Pay, rosters and wage theft
- Keep your own record of the hours you work.
- Check your pay with the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
- The SDA (131 732) can help, confidentially.
- Deliberately underpaying workers has been a crime in Australia since January 2025.
Injuries and manual handling
- Report every injury, even small ones.
- Lifting, stacking and standing all day add up. Ask for equipment and breaks.
- If you need time off or treatment, you can make a workers compensation claim, including as a casual.
Working alone and closing
- Try not to open, close or count cash alone.
- Know where your duress alarm is.
- If something feels wrong, lock up and call for help.
- Text someone when you're home.
Bullying, harassment or conflict
You don't have to put up with it, and you don't have to sort it out alone.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If your manager is involved, talk to someone outside your reporting line.
- The Fair Work Commission can make orders to stop bullying at work.
- For sexual harassment, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading your next shift
- Feeling numb, or snappy with customers
- Replaying incidents at night
- Sleep all over the place
- Pulling back from people
It's a normal response to a demanding job, not a weakness.
Young, new or casual
If you're young, new or casual, speaking up can feel risky. You have the same rights to safety, correct pay and breaks as everyone else. The SDA and the Fair Work Ombudsman can give advice.
Getting home safely
After a long or late shift, tiredness can affect your driving as much as alcohol.
- If you're struggling to keep your eyes open, don't drive. A 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave helps.
- After a hard shift, text someone when you get home.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist.
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
You don't have to go through your manager
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your employer can add its own EAP and wellbeing numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Free, confidential counselling. Your manager isn't told that you called. Most large retailers have one.
- Your union. The SDA (131 732) covers retail, fast food and warehouse workers.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman. Free advice on pay and rights, 13 13 94.
- Your health and safety representative. For aggression, injuries and working alone.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
You have rights at work whether you're full-time, part-time, casual or junior.
Spiritual and religious support
Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith or cultural community after a hard shift. Others find it in nature, music, exercise or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
If your workplace has a chaplain or wellbeing officer, they support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not ready to make a complaint. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"A customer said something that's stuck with me."
"I don't feel safe closing on my own."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- A union can give you confidential advice before you decide anything.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman can give advice without contacting your employer.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example in the staff room or on the bus home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Shop
Unladen™ Shop is a prototype made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. Unladen™ is a trade mark of Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to any store, employer or government agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Shop that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.1 prototype · September 2026