Chick-fil-A's four-day weekend experiment
The operator of the restaurant said it has improved service and consistency
A Chick-fil-A in Miami, Florida, has been utilizing a work schedule that gives employees four-day weekends, according to a recent report.
Justin Lindsey, the operator of the Chick-fil-A location, told QSR Magazine earlier this month that he started using the schedule back in February. Under it, participating employees are grouped into one of two "pods" that switch off working three consecutive days of 13 or 14-hour shifts, he said.
A view of a Chick-Fil-A restaurant on September 10, 2021 in Rohnert Park, California. Fast food chain Chick-Fil-A is struggling to find workers due to a labor shortage and will close some locations. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Eighteen store leaders and approximately 20 front-line workers have chosen to participate in the three-day block schedule, according to the outlet.
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Lindsey said he has seen improvements in the restaurant’s service, efficiency and consistency since starting the new scheduling model, QSR Magazine reported. The pods’ food safety inspections have been "literally perfect," he also told the outlet.
Picture showing the logo of a Chick-fil-A Fast Food Restaurant. (iStock / iStock)
The new system has seemingly impacted hiring as well, with over 420 people applying for a job posting that highlighted the new schedule, according to the magazine.
"I’m truly, from the bottom of my heart, I’m doing this because I think it’s the right thing to do for you and for your families and for your school and for whatever that might be," he told QSR he said in remarks to his employees. "That is the reason behind doing this. Because, honestly, it would probably be a whole lot easier to just do things the way we’ve always done them."
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His decision to implement the schedule came after he realized he was "asking a ton" of his workers, who were "literally working 70 hours a week, week in and week out," Lindsey told QSR Magazine. Some even reportedly gave up vacation time.
Chick-fil-A's top menu item of 2021 was waffle fries, across all six regions. (iStock / iStock)
There have been instances of organizations offering shorter work weeks for employees in the past.
In April, the startup Emtrain told FOX Business it implemented a pilot for a shortened, four-day work week starting in July 2021. Sage Hotel Management, which is based on Denver, said in August it has offered four-day work weeks in a bid to create more work-life balance and attract Generation Z employees.