Company: McDonald-s
Date: 2019-04-09
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: current

One Year Crew Member (Kitchen) Experience
Pros: There are few pros to working at McDonalds, but only one is directly a result of your employment there: free food on your break (and discounts when not on shift). 

That being said, the other benefits are less tangible.

You will definitely learn just how hard you are able to physically work. While this might be a con in some people's eyes, I personally found it to be character building and confidence boosting. The stressful conditions, the heat and the pace you will have to work at will push you physically and mentally and if you can cope with that (not everyone can - like myself) you will find working at McDonald's has given you greater confidence in your ability to work hard.

McDonald's is also a great introduction to workplace politics. You will witness conflict and dispute resolution in quick-fire mode, only for another to pop-up just as fast as the last one had been resolved. Given the stressful conditions and often young, inexperienced staff tempers flare up easily. You will also witness your managers grovel both to unhappy (read: unreasonable) customers and also to their higher-ups. McDonald's also has a culture of very strict adherence to company policy and management techniques - which have been in continual refinement ever since the first franchise opened - meaning that working here will teach you an awful lot about just how closely some companies will adhere to rules, which is valuable for working pretty much anywhere.
Cons: McDonald's is a very, very hard place to work. I can't stress that enough. While, above, I credited working here to some positive character-building experiences, that was perhaps overly optimistic. Just as easily, the conditions for workers there will lead to you building negative character traits.

Firstly, everything done there is run like clockwork. It's monitored down to every bun, patty and fry. Any and all wastage is marked up (because a multi-million pound company has to save every single penny.) Further, your actions and movement while on shift are constantly corrected and evaluated in order to produce the speediest, most monotonous result possible. The idea is that time is money, and the more time you take to move from bun station to the grill, the less burgers can be made in your eight hour shift. Google Taylorism - it's McDonald's (and fast food in general) guiding philosophy when it comes to work culture.

There is a total lack of respect - from customer and management. Don't expect friendliness at McDonald's if you're a worker. That's for customers only. You didn't buy anything, so get to work and do it fast. Burns are treated as temporary work stoppages, you're expected to be back at your station as quickly as possible. If you spend too long tending your wound, the manager will first shout then come and find you.

Between the conditions and the treatment (and the pay, just above minimum wage and an extra pound every hour worked between midnight and 6 am) you will become very tired and stressed. Your sleep will get worse and your life will become less enjoyable as a result. This is not just my experience, but that of my colleagues as well. We were mostly students or those who had left school with little qualifications - we had very little choice i where we worked and I'm guessing that you, the reader, do not either. 

The final straw for me was being asked (told) that I was going to have to work in the kitchen by myself for the rest of my shift. That is a four person job. I asked to go my break and I walked out the back door. If you are working at McDonald's and are too scared to walk off the job because you will not get your holiday pay - do not be afraid. They gave me mine on the next pay day.