Challenges and Motivation Issues Among Fast-Food Workers

Background

Fast-food jobs—frying potatoes and flipping burgers in hot, cramped spaces for troves of impatient customers— are generally viewed as temporary gigs filled primarily by teenagers wanting extra spending money. In turn, fast-food companies need not worry about paying living wages, making work meaningful, or providing growth opportunities, because workers won’t stick around long enough for these things to matter. This was true as recently as the 1980s, when the majority of fast-food workers were teenagers.

But today, 75% of workers are at least 20 years old, and one-third have their own children. Industry employees now describe “unbearable” work environments that include low pay, harsh physical and emotional conditions, and rapidly changing technology, combined with insufficient staff levels and training. Evidence suggests that the fast-food industry hasn’t made significant changes to its approach to motivating workers, despite its evolving landscape and consistent revenue growth over the last 15 years.

A Day in the Life of a Fast-Food Worker

There are four key reasons fast-food work doesn’t motivate employees. First, these jobs are characterized by few motivating features, with one study describing them as “low-skilled, alienating, standardized, and highly routinized.” Some tasks are so repetitive that restaurants are exploring whether robots can do them. There are also a few opportunities for advancement. Data indicate that approximately 90% of fast-food workers hold frontline jobs (such as cook or cashier), with the remaining 10% occupying low-level supervisory positions.

Only 2% of fast-food jobs are in upper-level managerial, professional, or technical roles, compared with 31%% of jobs in the United States. One former fast-food worker says, “I spent four years working at McDonald’s […] I never advanced up the rungs, never was a manager, never achieved anything of significance in my time there.” Industry spokespersons tout opportunities for hard-working employees to become top managers and even franchisees, but most workers’ lifetime earnings would barely cover the $750,000 or more required to open a franchise.

Second, fast-food workers perceive notable pay inequity. Most employees earn the minimum wage, and restaurants often keep the majority of their workforce part-time to avoid paying benefits. Over half of fast-food workers rely on some form of governmental assistance, and many earn extra hours by splitting their time across multiple restaurants. Terrence Wise told a reporter about the intricate bus-hopping route he’d devised to travel between his jobs at a Burger King and a McDonald’s in Kansas City, adding that he was sometimes lucky enough to get two 8-hour shifts in a single day. Wise still earned $8 per hour after 11 years with Burger King. U.S. fast-food workers earn an average hourly wage of $9.09, meaning that even 40 hours a week wouldn’t put a family of three above the poverty line.

While fast-food CEOs have earned increasingly higher pay over the years, employees’ wages have remained stagnant. Recently, workers at restaurants including Papa John’s, McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Chipotle, Taco Bell, and Carl’s Jr. have filed wage-theft suits. These suits allege that employers intentionally underpaid employees by failing to pay overtime, taking illegal deductions, forcing people to work off the clock, or paying wages below the minimum.

Third, people often mistreat fast-food employees. According to one former worker, “Customers always wait in the wings, ready to scream, throw drinks, and use racial slurs over a lack of ketchup.” A Starbucks’ barista described her job as “incredibly tiresome” because “we’re getting screamed at by customers for not being fast enough, so we try to go fast, and we mess up the money, or we mess up the drinks, and then we get yelled at for messing up the money and messing up the drinks.” Shantel Walker, a 30+ year Papa John’s veteran, said “customers […] don’t see the retaliatory measures happening behind that counter […] they don’t see your hours getting cut and cut. They don’t see your boss talking to you like you’re worthless.”

Fourth, high-pressure fast-food environments present physical safety hazards for workers. In 2015, employees filed federal complaints against McDonald’s, alleging that understaffing led to excessive pressure on employees to cook food too quickly and without sufficient time to clean up messes or allow fryers to cool before changing oil. The employees said this led to falls and burn injuries and that restaurants didn’t provide even basic first-aid supplies, often instructing them to treat burns with condiments.

Industry Outcomes

Employees and organizations in this industry have experienced two key outcomes. First, workers suffer stress-related health problems. Studies show that fast-food workers experience more stress than those in equally demanding careers due to the characteristic absence of both job security and control in their jobs. Further, the emotional labor of constantly pretending to be happy and engaged with customers, regardless of what’s happening behind the counter, leads to job dissatisfaction, burnout, and even substance abuse. One long-time worker says she uses illicit drugs to decrease the stress she experiences from the “fake feelings” she has to exhibit on the job. National surveys indicate that over 17% of food service workers use illegal substances.

Second, the industry is facing record-high turnover rates. Recent data indicate a 150% turnover rate in the fast food industry—the highest ever recorded in its history. Some blame restaurants’ rapid introductions of new technologies (delivery services, self-ordering kiosks, mobile ordering). Adapting to new technologies takes time, and many restaurants aren’t providing the necessary training resources to ensure workers feel confident in using the tools proficiently. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said, “It’s going to get increasingly challenging to attract the talent you want into your business […] and then you’ve got to work really hard through training and development to retain them.”

Small Improvements

Recent grassroots campaigns and non-profits such as Fight for $15 and Fast-Food Justice have had at least a small positive impact on the industry. For example, although fast-food workers still can’t unionize, new laws in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and New York are helping workers organize, and some cities have enacted wage protections and scheduling requirements to give employees more job stability and predictability. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer views the improvements as part of a broader movement for “economic justice” that he hopes will spread to fast-food organizations nationwide.

Underlying Problem and Its Causes

One of the major issues plaguing the fast-food industry is the inadequate level of employee motivation and job satisfaction. The industry faces challenges related to employee turnover, stress-related health problems, and a negative work environment. Previously viewed as short-term employment for adolescents, fast-food jobs now provide steady work and career advancement opportunities for a considerable number of adults.

However, the industry has not adapted its approach to motivating and retaining these employees, resulting in a workforce that feels demotivated and dissatisfied (Naru & Rehman, 2020). Several causes contribute to the motivation challenges in the fast-food industry:

1. Job Design. Fast-food jobs are often perceived as low-skilled, repetitive, and lacking in opportunities for advancement. The mundane and standardized nature of tasks leaves employees feeling unengaged and unfulfilled.
2. Pay Inequity. A significant number of fast-food workers work part-time, with limited access to benefits, and earn the minimum wage. The disparity between low wages and the rising cost of living creates financial stress and reduces employee motivation (Guan et al., 2022).
3. Mistreatment by Customers. Fast-food employees frequently face mistreatment and verbal abuse from customers. Negative social interactions can lead to emotional strain and negatively affect their job satisfaction and motivation.
4. Physical Safety Hazards. Understaffing and pressure to work quickly can create safety hazards for employees. The lack of proper training and resources to handle these hazards can lead to accidents and injuries, impacting employee morale.
5. Limited Advancement Opportunities. The fast-food industry offers limited opportunities for career advancement. The lack of upward mobility can lead to feelings of stagnation and a lack of motivation to excel in their current roles.

Theoretical Perspective

Herzberg’s Theory

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory suggests that certain factors act as hygiene factors, which, when absent, can lead to dissatisfaction, but their presence alone does not lead to motivation. On the other hand, motivating factors directly lead to employee satisfaction and intrinsic motivation in the fast-food industry.

Hygiene Factors

• Pay. The low wages and strong pay inequity act as hygiene factors. They can cause dissatisfaction among employees if they are not adequately compensated for their work (Nawar et al.,2022).
• Working Conditions. The hot, cramped, and physically demanding work environment is a hygiene factor that can negatively impact employee satisfaction.
• Job Security. The lack of job security in fast-food jobs is a hygiene factor, as it can create feelings of insecurity and dissatisfaction among employees.

Motivating Factors

• Advancement Opportunities. The limited opportunities for career growth in the fast-food industry act as a motivating factor that is missing. The absence of clear paths for advancement can hinder employee motivation.
• Recognition and Achievement. The lack of recognition and rewards for employees’ hard work is a motivating factor that is absent in many fast-food jobs (Viljoen & Saayman, 2019).
• Responsibility and Autonomy. The absence of autonomy and decision-making power can hinder the sense of responsibility and intrinsic motivation among employees.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Physiological Needs: The low wages in the fast-food industry may not adequately meet the physiological needs of employees, leading to financial stress and dissatisfaction.
• Safety Needs: The physical safety hazards and lack of job security can hinder employees’ safety needs, leading to a sense of insecurity and reduced motivation.
• Social Needs: Mistreatment by customers and negative social interactions can negatively impact employees’ social needs, leading to decreased job satisfaction.

McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory

• Need for Achievement: The limited opportunities for career advancement and recognition can hinder the need for achievement among employees, reducing their motivation to excel.
• Need for Affiliation: The mistreatment by customers and strained relationships can hinder the need for affiliation, leading to a lack of motivation among employees who value positive social connections.
• Need for Power: The lack of decision-making power and responsibility in fast-food jobs can hinder the need for power among employees who seek influence and control.

Addressing these motivation issues requires implementing strategies that fulfill employees’ basic needs, provide opportunities for career growth, foster positive relationships, and recognize and reward employee contributions. By understanding and addressing these needs, the fast-food industry can enhance employee motivation and job satisfaction, leading to improved performance and reduced turnover.

References

Guan N, Guariglia A, Moore P, Xu F, Al-Janabi H (2022) Financial stress and depression in adults: A systematic review. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0264041.

Nawar, N. H. K., Zaini, S. F., Sobri, S., Majid, M. A. A., & Zaki, M. I. M. (2022). Employee intention to leave a job: A case of fast food restaurants in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(5), 273 –281.

Naru, A. S., & Rehman, A. (2020). Impact of job insecurity and work overload on employee performance with the mediating role of employee stress: A case of Pakistan’s fast-food industry. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 10(1), 304–331.

Viljoen, A., Kruger, S., & Saayman, M. (2019). Understanding the role that quality of work life of food and beverage employees plays in perceived service delivery and productivity. Southern African Business Review.