Ethics aside, this is bad analysis.
Gas prices putting financial stress on Applebee's employees will also put financial stress on Applebee's customers, who may cut spending on things like going to Applebee's.
Gas prices putting financial stress on Applebee's employees will also put financial stress on Applebee's customers, who may cut spending on things like going to Applebee's.
We are facing headwinds and may need to cut prices
To stay viable this means we need to cut costs
One way to do this is offer lower starting wages. Though this wasn't viable in the recent past, it may be possible now. That's because our pool of workers are feeling pinched and may need to pick up extra jobs
I understand he does not talk about the need to tighten the belt on prices in his email. But obviously all restaurants have been under pressure with COVID and inflation. It may be understood by the recipients that they need to cut costs wherever possible.
You can't ask for grace when you offer none.
Except executive compensation, I suppose.
It's also not an isolated event, just another moment in a trend of big corporate entities pushing wages in only one direction, down. No matter how you word it, it's starting to look a lot like: "We need to lower wages because no one can afford anything anymore because no one is paying high enough wages".
...implying they weren't already doing so? I'm not sure about you, but I don't think applebees is the type of place you stick around for "the good work culture" or whatever.
* Fear of change has to drive a bit of it
* Satisfaction: This is a personal reason of mine. I make a solid technology wage that probably rests somewhere in the middle or maybe low-middle. I could definitely find myself a 15-20% bump if I tried, but I am so damn happy with my employer that I really don't feel the need. As long as my current wage tracks inflation, I honestly would be ok with not making any more money.
* Convenience
When I worked retail, we were in sales and were top of the food chain. The restaurant people were a notch over regular mall workers in pay, but had to deal with different hours. Many people work multiple jobs… one line cook I remember did prep work starting at 6am at one place, painted, and closed the mall restaurant. He couldnt flip jobs easily due to bus schedules.
The fact is, it's difficult to find resources to escape and you're trapped in a difficult space where gathering momentum to make even small transitions could take years of time while barely staying afloat. This is the life of the precariat class.
Look at Uber… it wasn’t uncommon for drivers to pay Uber to work as comp was less than depreciation. They were basically working for free to cash out car equity.