Seniors Are Replacing Teenagers as Fast-Food Workers

A sustained labor shortage and the tendency for longer-living Americans to keep working to supplement their retirement savings is causing seniors to look for and find work in the quick-service food industry, reports Bloomberg . Fast-food establishments are posting want ads on AARP's website, with recruiters saying older workers are valued for soft skills — such as a friendly demeanor and punctuality — that younger workers sometimes lack. The restaurant chains benefit from older workers' years of experience for the same salaries they would pay someone decades younger, a desirable quality in an industry pressured by rising transportation and raw material costs. Calibrate Coaching's James Gray says seniors also are a solid deal for fast-food companies financially because they are not always looking to advance and earn more. Older adults usually have more mature social skills than children who grew up online and who often would rather not be concerned with real-world interactions. AARP has been an essential player in the industry's senior recruitment. For example, this past summer American Blue Ribbon Holdings, owner of casual dining chains, paid $3,500 to list hourly and management jobs on the AARP site and hired five people for its Bakers Square and Village Inn dining brands.