Name: Mass resignation.
Age: Not sure I like the question, I quit.
What? You have a contractual obligation to do pass notes, come back! Nah, you’re all right, see ya … OK, just kidding. The money might be crap, but working conditions aren’t bad and I quite like the Pass notes gig. I’ll stay … for now. It wasn’t like that at a branch of Burger King in Lincoln, Nebraska, though.
Go on. Workers there said the franchise had been understaffed for months, they were putting in 60-hour weeks, with no air conditioning, in mid summer. The general manager, Rachel Flores, said she was hospitalised through dehydration. A Burger King spokesperson told DailyMail.com …
… that Rachel’s telling whoppers? No. That “the work experience described at this location is not in line with our brand values. Our franchisee is looking into this situation to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Anyway, what did Flores do? Handed in her notice. And not just Flores.
Who else? Eight others at the branch. Plus they put a message up, under the big Burger King sign, that said: “We all quit. Sorry for the inconvenience.” And of course it went viral on social media.
Management must have loved that. Flores said they told her to take it down.
To which she replied? That she couldn’t, because they were short-staffed!
Well played. That’s when they told her to go, although it was a day before her official last day.
Mass resignation then, but in one Nebraska burger bar. It’s hardly a workers’ revolution is it? Well, hold that thought. Since the pandemic, employees have been quitting the workforce, or switching jobs, in droves.
Over three-quarters of Britons re-evaluate their lives during CovidRead more
Got any figures to back this up? A global survey of 30,000 workers by Microsoft found that 41% were considering quitting or changing professions this year. Another study in the UK and Ireland showed 38% planned to quit. In the US, more than four million quit their jobs in April alone. Some economists are talking about the “Great Resignation”.
And it’s because? Because of Covid, basically. For some it’s about a resulting re-evaluation, or a change in priorities – time to do the thing you always meant to do. But for many it’s simply because of the way they have been treated by their employers during the pandemic.
Any positive knock-ons? Several big employers in the US – including fast-food chains Chipotle and McDonald’s, plus retailers Walmart and Costco – have raised their minimum wages.
Do say: “You know where you can shove your job.”
Don’t say: [Silence]
Hello! Is anyone there? There is a notice period you know, even for Pass notes. Don’t say: [Echoing: don’t say, don’t say, don’t say …]
