The Fast-Food Chain With The Highest Turnover Rate, According To One Study

Restaurants and fast food establishments are known by employees and employers alike for their high turnover rates. Per Notch Ordering, the National Restaurant Association conducted a 2014 study that found the industry's yearly employee turnover rate to be as high as 66.3%. Of those former workers, 46.5% quit on their own volition. Though these numbers sound alarming, it's important to note that many employees are students who are working summer and seasonal jobs. As many as 400,000 new hires are welcomed to restaurant teams every summer, and 1.5 million restaurant workers overall are said to be adolescents.

It's also worth mentioning that 2022 has seen a major restaurant labor shortage following the pandemic. Hospitality workers have been quitting their jobs in record numbers due to a host of reasons, from low pay and a lack of benefits to long hours and difficult work, management, and customers (via NPR). Of course, not all restaurants are the same. One fast food establishment in particular has quite an alarming turnover rate.

According to a study by Resume, workers employed at Popeyes stay for an average of 0.8 years, which is the shortest period reported in the data. No other food service establishment made the lists of businesses with especially low or high turnover rates.

So, why is the popular fried chicken chain seeing such a high turnover rate? The truth about working at Popeyes, according to one employee on Glassdoor, is that "management turnover is high due to them being treated badly and receiving low pay." Another past worker echoed that sentiment, stating there is "lots of staff turnover due to low pay for hourly team members." Consequently, the rate of employees constantly leaving causes a high-stress environment for the workers who stay, according to another employee.

Per Triple Pundit, the chicken sandwich trend of 2019 created a "brutal" work experience for the employees shelling them out. On August 27 of that year, Popeye's tweeted, "Y'all. We love that you love The Sandwich. Unfortunately we're sold out (for now)." It even became dangerous when a man reportedly pointed a gun at a worker when the sandwich wasn't available at a Houston store. One Glassdoor reviewer's advice to management? "Treat your employees better and give raises."