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My friend just came from working at her sister's restaurant and was telling me how hard of a day it was, and how they are struggling with employee turnover. Then it got me thinking, what if there was an app that corporate workers could use to pick up shifts at other struggling businesses? Would you ever use it?

Comments (16)

al_borland · 17h ago

How would that work? Am I taking a vacation day from my corporate job so I can make $12/hr bussing tables? I’m not sure why I’d ever want to do that.

What would happen is this app would just turn into another form of gig work for unemployed people, and it would be a nightmare. Imagine going to a restaurant and no one knows what they’re doing, because they’re only there for a day. The restaurant would probably lose money due to waste and the bad reputation.

scarface_74 · 16h ago

This exists for bartenders.

https://www.shiftnow.com/blog/bartender-gig-apps

brettgriffin · 13h ago

That's for experienced bartenders to find new gigs. A lot service industry jobs have similar networks to help match a supply/demand mismatch.

The parent comment was asking why someone with a 'desk job', often making >$100/hr, would knock off work to go make a fraction of the hourly pay for significantly harder work.

LarsAlereon · 16h ago

They're struggling with employee turnover because the boss won't pay competitive wages. Why won't the boss pay competitive wages? I have some ideas, but rather than project I'll just say that's the problem to solve.

throwmeaway222 · 2h ago

Because they have customers that say if you raise prices they will stop eating there

toomuchtodo · 15h ago

This. Demographic trends means prime working age population is shrinking every year, while undocumented immigrants who filled these jobs are being deported or otherwise disincentivized from filling these jobs. Those seeking this labor are now exposed to the reality of the shrinking pool of workers in this part of the labor market.

I won’t work a shift, but I’ll help anyone who isn’t unionized yet unionize. Wages have been stagnant for decades, and the minimize wage isn’t a living wage. Therefore, this is a perfect time to push the wages and working condition quality up as demand for labor exceeds supply for the foreseeable future.

https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/restaurant-industrys-... (“Beginning last year through 2027 4.1 million workers will retire annually, and there are not enough younger workers to replace them. If every unemployed worker found a job tomorrow, we would still be short by at least 1.2 million.”)

https://www.benefitnews.com/news/why-the-restaurant-industry...

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

https://www.axios.com/results?q=Labor%20shortage&sort=1

dakiol · 8h ago

I always thought about picking up some physically demanding job on weekends (like carrying boxes or something like that). It would serve me as exercise and I would get paid. Problem is i’m picky about the timing (e.g., not early in the morning, not when it’s hot, etc.)

toomuchtodo · 3h ago

Part time UPS package handler.

coolguy4 · 16h ago

It would be cool to do some evening shifts at a restaurant, for the novelty and the social aspect (compared with staring at a screen all day)... plus the work is cognitively very simplistic... quite relaxing compared to corporate life. The problem is, if I have a day job as an engineer, my regular income puts me in a high tax bracket. So, not only would I be earning close to minimum wage, I would be taxed at the highest tax rate on the minimum wage... so it really would be a waste of time. Progressive tax rates are what makes it unviable for high income earners to pick up a weekend or evening job.

MeetingsBrowser · 15h ago

> the work is cognitively very simplistic... quite relaxing compared to corporate life.

I don't have a ton of experience with restaurant kitchens, but I don't think they are known for being relaxed environments.

brettgriffin · 13h ago

I worked both front and back of house in restaurants in high school and college. It is true that the work is cognitively simple, but there is nothing relaxing about the work. Even if you could do the work tax-free, I assure you, you don't want to do it if you do not have to.

6510 · 14h ago

Would some cook/work for discounts scheme be possible from a tax perspective? Something like, you work for x hours and bring y friends or coworkers then get a z discount?

sebst · 7h ago

Absolutely!

When I was in my twenties, a friend of mine had a catering lease at a golf club. I never worked seriously in the catering industry, but I always enjoyed helping out there (in service, in the warehouse, in the kitchen). It was a welcome change from constantly staring at a screen, and at the end of the day, it was a different kind of tiredness (the physical kind, you know).

knikes · 16h ago

No. I got into corporate work to get away from the hell that is restaurant/retail work.

scarface_74 · 17h ago

Why would anyone do that?

dankwizard · 14h ago

NO WAY JOSE

until AI inevitably takes my job

then sure

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Comments (16)