McDonald’s used to advertise how proud it was that working in one of its restaurants was the first real job that so many teenagers landed. It still promotes its support programs and scholarships for young employees. But hiring seems to be trending toward the other end of the age scale…
Joel Presson, a restaurant industry veteran, still works in it at age 93, at a
South Carolina Wendy’s, where he has been employed since 1989.
The stereotype of the pimply-faced kid behind the Fast Food joint counter is in danger of extinction. In fact, fewer and fewer teens are applying for Fast Food jobs. But that’s okay, say the big chains. There’s a surge in applications from older, retired folks for those minimum-wage jobs.
According to the U.S. the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of working Americans aged 65 to 74 is expected to grow 4.5 percent, while those aged 16 to 24 is expected to shrink 1.4 percent.
Why?
One reason older folks are coming back out to work – often on their terms, as far as shifts and hours are concerned – is that they want to augment their less-than-princely retirement incomes. But an even stronger draw for many of them is the social side.
“It’s fun for a while, not getting up, not having to punch a clock, not having to get out of bed and grind every day,” Stevenson Williams, 63, Manager of a Church’s Chicken in North Charleston, South Carolina, told Bloomberg News. “But after working all your life, sitting around got old. There’s only so many trips to Walmart you can take.”
And, at most chains, employees get a substantial discount on food – something that may interest seniors more than teens.
Good for the chains, too…
As a result of the flood of older folks joining the Fast Food workforce, the companies benefit from their lifetimes of experience, yet continue to pay the minimum wage, same as they pay the green kids who may suffer from a case of millennial entitlement or screen addiction.
“A lot of times with the younger kids now, they can be very disrespectful,” Williams notes. “So you have to coach them and tell them this is your job, this is not the street.”
On the other hand older folks tend to have a stronger work ethic and sense of responsibility. That, corporate types observe, you cannot put a price on.
My take…
If you’re a healthy, hale-and-hearty senior looking for a renewed sense of involvement and social engagement, and you could use a little extra cash, a Fast Food job offering just the right number of hours a week could be the ticket. The restaurants are waiting to welcome you.
~ Maggie J.