The employee of Southcity's Reject Shop, who wished to remain anonymous, said the abuse stemmed from increasing cases of shoplifting from both their store and others in the centre.

"It's getting worse and worse, there isn't really a day that goes by where we don't have something stolen," she said.

"We basically have regulars now, they keep coming back because they know they can get away with it."

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The woman said their store policy states they aren't allowed to check the bags of shoppers in an effort to avoid confrontation which may potentially become aggressive.

"The thing is, we still cop the abuse though because the shoplifters know we are watching them and go off at us for it," she said.

After working at the store for four years now, the employee said they have security cameras and newly installed security gates, but the incidences of theft are becoming too frequent to stay on top of.

"We do report it to police when we can, but we can't keep giving them hours and hours or footage over the same thing, and they can't be stationed at the centre all the time," she said.

"It just feels like a losing battle."

More security guards monitoring Southcity was suggested as a possible solution, but the Reject Shop employee said she had been told it would be too costly.

"I have spoken to centre management and my company, but nobody wants to pay for more security guards," she said.

"At any rate, the shoplifters know when the guards are on too and work around it."

Spokesperson for Southcity Jill Toohey said the safety of staff at the centre was always a priority.

"We do already have security guards rostered on during peak periods at the centre," she said.

Fellow employee at Southcity John Byrne, who owns the Newsagency, said they were also aware of shoplifting at the centre.

"The Reject Shop tends to bear the brunt of it, though," he said.

"We get the odd shoplifter, but it's not too worrying.

"However, we did put in security cameras 12 months ago to help identify the culprits, and that has helped deter people a bit."

With the Reject Shop employee left feeling like she had no solutions, she said she hoped someone could do something.

"I know it isn't anyone's fault other than the ones stealing, but we shouldn't have to dread going to work for fear of being abused," she said.

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