It’s become apparent that in recent years, retail stores like Staples, Sport’s Authority and Best Buy have been opening earlier on holidays in hopes the stores will rake in more money during the holidays. This might be convenient for those last minute or bargain shoppers, but it takes a toll on employees as well. There are people who need the hours to pay bills and provide for their families but what often happens is that these individuals are often overworked.

Instead of being at home with their families, employees are often encouraged to work for ridiculous amounts of hours.

Kmart will be opening at 6 a.m. in hopes that promoting good deals earlier, will lead to more sales during the holidays. Stores such as Target and Macy’s will be opening at 6 p.m. and Old Navy will be opening at 4 p.m. and offering a 50 percent discount for 41 hours. Wal-Mart just announced a five-day black Friday event in which there will be online discounts offered to costumers from 6 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.

Marketing director for The Galleria in Houston, Texas said the hours were changed to accommodate the needs of the consumers. According to Adobe’s Holiday Predictions, the stores will be offering their best discounts at an average of 24 percent. Accenture Research says the percentage of shoppers planning to shop on Thanksgiving has increased from 38 percent to 45 percent.

The costumers are the top priority to a lot of company executives who run the malls and retail chains nationwide, but they need to invest in and accommodate the needs of the employee. It is these individuals who stand behind the counters and wait on sometimes inconsiderate and irritable shoppers in place of chilling at home with their families, pigging out on turkey and imbibing on the family’s eggnog.

There are a few petitions going around the Internet, asking people to support the employees. Long-time retail employee Kelly Kinsey launched a petition, which has garnered 34,400 signatures and Justin Mills, a four-year Target employee is leading a petition with 46,880 signatures on Change.org to keep malls and stores closed.

There are some places willing to show opposition to stores staying open on the holidays. Gamestop, Costco, Marshalls, Barnes and Nobles and T.J. Maxx are all stores that are staying closed in support of the families of their employees. This is interesting because even though the numbers of shopper on Thanksgiving have increased, the number of retail chains staying open have decreased.

What you can do to support the hardworking folks being stuck with long hours for the holidays, you can sign one of these petitions. You can also opt out of waiting in excruciatingly long lines and possibly getting trampled and just shop online, saving you time. Maybe then, these execs will understand the plight of those who use their valuable time to serve those who might not be so appreciative.