NDUSTRY OUTCOMES
Employees and organizations in this industry have experienced two key outcomes. First, workers suffer stress related health problems. Studies show fast-food workers experience more stress than others in equally demanding careers because of their jobs’ characteristic absence of both job security and control. Further, the emotional labo 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 over 17 percent of food service workers use illegal substances.
Second, the industry is facing record-high turnover rates. Recent data indicate a 150 percent turnover rate in fast food—the highest ever recorded in the industry’s history. Some blame restaurants’ rapid introductions of new technologies . Adapting to new technologies takes time, and many restaurants aren’t providing the necessary training resources to ensure workers feel they can use 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 small positive impacts 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 sees the improvements as part of a larger movement of “economic justice” that he hopes will spread to fast- food organizations across the country.
QUESTIONS:
PART-I Problem Solving Perspective
Q1. What is the underlying problem in this case from the fast-food industry’s perspective?
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University
المملكةالعربية السعودية
وزارة التعليم
الجامعة السعودية الإلكترونية
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
Q2. What are the causes of this problem?
PART-II Part 2- Application of Chapter Contents
Q3. What would Herzberg’s theory say about hygiene and motivating factors present in fast-food industry jobs?
Q4. What are the major motivation issues at play in the fast-food industry according to the major needs-based theories of motivation .
