Three Day Work Week Offered At Popular Restaurant
We all work for the weekend, right? Now, a three day work week offered at a popular restaurant is seeing a surge of interest. A Chick-fil-A in Miami leads the way in the experiement. Of course, the shortened week does come with a compromise. Employees on this three day schedule work 12-14 hour days. According to a story on today.com, operator Justin Lindsey of the Miami location of Chick-fil-A says it’s all about leading with generosity. Therefore, he wanted to give workers what they value most, pay and time. So, Lindsey decided to launch the experiment to see if applicants were interested in the new proposal. And last month alone, 429 applications came in one week for just one available position. Pay wasn’t what drove numbers. It was the short week. He started the schedule in February, and all his managers working the schedule continued on. Furthermore, twenty four of 140 employees signed up for the new schedule and opted to keep with it, too.
He divided workers into two groups. They each work three consecutive, longer days, in exchange for two weekends and seven days in a row off each month. Another plus to the schedule is the opportunity for employees to work with the same team members each day. Lindsey says it helps with team building and provides cohesion. He says some even chose to vacation together. And, knowing the schedule in advance allows workers to plan their own life events, too. Plus, the pay is an added bonus. On the old schedule, managers made $19 an hour. With fewer hours, pay increased to as much as $35. Non-management employees earn $17 an hour. Although the days are long, Lindsey allows unlimited breaks for workers to catch a breath. And, with three-day work weeks offered, Lindsey’s biggest problem is having too many applications. Other Chick-fil-A operators are curious about the plan. So, maybe it could catch on!
