Working at McDonalds: some redeeming features of McJobs

Anthony M Gould
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Anthony M Gould: Laval University, Canada, Anthony.Gould@rlt.ulaval.ca

Work, Employment & Society, 2010, vol. 24, issue 4, 780-802

Abstract: Within much critical research literature, fast-food jobs are presented as offering few employee advantages. Indeed the disparaging term ‘McJob’ has come to describe low-skill, low-pay, dead-end, routine service industry employment in general. In contrast, there is employer-oriented literature that portrays fast-food jobs more positively and even presents them as beneficial for the workforce. This study analyses survey data from a sample of Australian McDonald’s outlets to determine employee and employer experiences and attitudes towards these so-called McJobs. Findings indicate that employees view their jobs as consisting of repeatedly doing a limited range of non-complex tasks whereas managers perceive aspects of the job more positively. Evidence is presented that fast-food jobs offer human resource advantages, potential career opportunities and, for some, desirable forms of work organisation. These findings suggest that the current, dominant portrayal of McJobs is inaccurate, with the reality more nuanced.

Keywords: fast-food jobs; human resource management; McDonald’s; McJobs; service work; work organisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:24:y:2010:i:4:p:780-802

DOI: 10.1177/0950017010380644

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