7 in 10 QSR employees want earned wage access

A survey reveals that the majority of QSR employees are stressed over finances.

The majority of quick-service restaurant employees are stressed about their finances and the concept of earned wage access or getting paid more frequently would be very or extremely beneficial to them, a survey by YouGov and DailyPay revealed.

The research, which surveyed QSR and fast casual restaurant employees, indicates that the majority believe financial stress has had at least somewhat of a negative impact on their emotional well-being (72%), mental health (70%), physical health (64%), job satisfaction (58%), job performance (39%), and attendance (34%).

However, in a sign of optimism, nearly half (45%) of those surveyed feel better financially in comparison to how they felt a year ago.

With hopes of their economic situation improving, only 14% expect to be in a financially worse situation a year from now.

Meanwhile, seven in 10 employees say that the concept of earned wage access is somewhat or very appealing, with 56% saying getting paid more frequently at work than they currently do would be “very” or “extremely” beneficial to them.

The survey of QSR and fast casual restaurant employees also noted that about half (49%) would be very or somewhat likely to consider leaving their current employer for another employer that offers earned wage access, with 42% saying on-demand pay would be extremely or very important when looking for a new job.

YouGov conducted a 10-minute online survey on behalf of DailyPay, surveying 688 quick-service and fast-casual restaurant employees (e.g. cashiers, cooks, kitchen staff, counter staff, delivery staff, servers and drive-thru attendants) in September and October 2023.