Why Teens Should Never Work In Fast Food Restaurants
Mark Bavisotto
I Help Technology Executives Pioneer the Future by Strategizing, Transforming, and Leading with AI-Driven Excellence. Father. Husband. Entrepreneur. Founder of Successive Technologies.
Most parents encourage their teenage Sons and Daughters to go out and get a job. They believe it's a great way to start earning money and gaining some responsibility. Some teens need to work because they have to help support their families. Fast food restaurants love to hire teens because they'll work for cheap and very long hours. They prey on these kids in malls, schools, and on the internet promising them a career that they otherwise might not be able to achieve.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the fast food industry is one of the largest employers to teens in the United States. More than half of Mcdonalds senior managers have started off as fry cooks and more than 50% of store owners began as crew members within a franchise. Those numbers sound great, but it fails to paint a picture of the real story. Most of these teenage workers can be forced to work more than 40 hours a week without being paid, even though they're part-time. There's no benefits for them, so if an injury occurs, you better hope they're insured. Speaking of safety issues, an estimated 28,000 teens in fast food jobs are rushed to the ER each year with job related injuries. Most of these injuries are burns from hot grease, slip and falls, and inhaling poisonous fumes.
Teenage fast food employees are constantly targeted for robberies because criminals see them as an easy target. Many fast food managers are under the age of 21 and are susceptible because of their inexperience in these types of situations. Another reason is many of these establishments don't limit the amount of cash on hand so criminals know they can strong arm young employees into giving them that easy cash. The last reason is due to the long hours these restaurants are open for. Between 10 pm and 6 am is when most robberies happen within these establishments, and the sad part is many teens are still working at those hours. Here's some food for thought before sending your teen to work in the fast food industry. In early 2000, 5 Wendy's employees were shot and killed over a sum of $2400. They were tied up, mouths were ducked tape, plastic bags put over their heads, and then they were marched into the freezer where they were shot execution style in the back of the head. Two of these employees were 18 years old.
What can we do about it? After reading Fast Food Nation, I wanted to become apart of the solution. I asked myself, how can we provide a safer employment environment for teens? The first two words that popped into my head were apprenticeships or internships. Many startup businesses are always looking for cheap help. I thought, why couldn't we teach teens entrepreneurial skills and then place them in a startup to work for cheap, gain valuable experience, and the upside is 1000% better than working for fast food restaurant. This program would be doing three important things. First, they would obtain the skills they need to become successful in a knowledge based economy. Second, they would work in a safe environment where they could apply these new skills. Third, they will start to build a network. It's so important to start building connections at an early age because when you're ready to start your own business or join the workforce you'll already have a network to lean on.
These teens are the future of our nation and we need to give them the best chance to be successful. I know that many teens need or should work, but fast food restaurants are not the answer. Kids have so much creativity that it shouldn't be wasted flipping burgers at Mcdonalds, but in an environment where it could be nurtured and celebrated. Superintendents have asked me to develop an entrepreneurial program for their schools, and a key component to the curriculum is apprenticeships or internships at local startups. The future is in innovation not in fast food restaurants. Therefore, we must prepare our youth as early as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Mark Bavisotto
Mental Health Worker at LIFEBRIDGES, INC.
2yTeens go on fronm fast food to other jons. I went from grocery store to mi,itary to four year degree and working in mental health. so you are wrong that it's an incentive killer, these kids need to get away from the video games andtexting
Experienced foodservice management professional.
4ySo where are all these startups willing to give kids an (unpaid) internship or apprenticeship? I can't name one, but I can find plenty of restaurants looking for (paid) help!
Global Entrepreneur
6yHowdy Mark! I really enjoyed reading your article. I wrote an "update" but made sure to give you credit for the original. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/teenagers-get-job-ask-career-opportunities-miguel-hidalgo/?published=t
Celtic and Viking Archaeology MLitt from University of Glasgow
6yThere are so many issues with this article it's hard to know where to start. A lot of misinformation is being put out here about teenage employment in fast food restaurants. As an individual who started working in fast food at an early teen age through most of undergrad, most of the statements here are utter nonsense. I'm not against internships and apprentices for teens, but it's not always easy to find a company willing to work with individuals without developed skill sets, and finding laid opportunities are far and few between. The issue I take with this section of the article is it completely contradicts one of your latest arguments against teens in fast food service. You advocate teens working as cheap labor in start ups but it's not okay to work as cheap labor in fast food? How is that okay? Not to mention start ups are less likely to pay their employees in a timely manner or based on actual hours worked. They're also more likely to expect overtime hours without compensation as the company struggles to get it's feet under it. Where as fast food (particularly at any major chain) has time clocks, strict labor laws, and pays a minimum wage (where teens make the same as older employees). One food chain tried to make me work off the clock. They expected me to clock out but remain in the building until the other closers were finished and to then takebtrash out off the clock. I refused and kept a lot of any time I worked off the clock or was made to remain on the premises and had the management add the time to my work log or else threaten to tell HR. They added the time. If anyone is working for free they need to refuse, but it's rarely teens who are asked to do so and it's far from a regular occurances. McDonald's also trains employees to hand over any cash to robbers as the company recognizes a few thousand in profits isn't worth the cost of employees lives. I believe every teen should be made to work on the food industry, either in fast food or as waitresses/waiters. People who work in food are less likely to be complete jerks to people working I these positions because they themselves have experienced all the hardships felt by the employees, especially in concern to difficult customers. I have met pleantynof adults who were fortunate enough to have never had to work in any food industry and who turn up their nose at food service employees or any service industry employee. Teens can learn valuable skills in food service.
HSC-3
7yGreat post. I myself agree with you and am using going to citing your for a college paper. I myself have worked the fast food industry when I was a teen and I feel that I have learned more from other jobs, that provided valuable skills in my life that can produce careers. I am currently in the military and have learned tons of skills compared to my time as a fast food worker/manager. I feel education is your true work experience, being that if you apply yourself in your education you will apply yourself at your job. I also agree with that these types of jobs hinder teens when they could be learn entrepreneurial skills. Thanks again.