Companies are slowly opening up to the idea of a four-day work week, but one Chick-fil-A is taking things a step further by offering employees three-day work weeks.
Instead of reducing the number of hours worked, a Chick-fil-A located in Miami is condensing a full-time week’s worth of shifts into just three days. Employees have a set three days where they would work 13- to 14-hour shifts, leaving them with four days off.
So far the system has been beneficial, according to that store’s operator, Justin Lindsey. He spoke with QSR Magazine about the store’s changes and shared that employees seem to enjoy having more time off during the week. Since the program was implemented in February, there’s been a 100 percent retention rate at the management level, and the team feels like they have a good working environment.
And it’s not just the team members who are benefiting from the change. This specific Chick-fil-A is on track to be one of the top-earning locations in the country. While an average Chick-fil-A location brings in around $8.4 million annually, this location is on pace to bring in $17 million by the end of the year.
However, there are plenty of issues the team is still having to figure out. For one, working a 13- to 14- hour shift on your feet is less than ideal, in addition to the logistics of scheduling and asking for time off. Lindsay and his team are still working on ironing out the trouble spots, but he’s hopeful their new model can revolutionize the restaurant industry.
“I think people want to work in this industry,” he says. “People enjoy the work. But they want some things to change, and I think that’s what this has shown — is that there are things that if we change it for the better, we’re going to make a lasting impact.”
