Why Working At McDonalds Is Harder Than Brain Surgery

1. Sexual harassment is common amongst workers!

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Investigations have just been launched into McDonald's systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The shocking truth was that female McDonald's staff regularly faced harassment by fellow workers or managers! Percentage-wise, it was found to be worse than many other careers such as amongst surgeons!

2. Workers face racial discrimination and bullying

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The discrimination wasn't just gender-based, it was also racial! McDonald's recently launched an advert with Travis Scott which people suspected came off the back of hundreds of complaints about workers who had to deal with racial discrimination and bullying!

3. You get treated with less respect

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As a brain surgeon, you're automatically treated with a huge amount of respect because of the caliber of your work and the high status and pay it brings you. But, working at McDonald's is super hard but workers often find that they are treated with such disrespect as they are degraded for the work they do!

4. McDonalds workers have to deal with HUNDREDS of customers

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There's no downplaying how hard the work of a brain surgeon is - that's totally clear. But McDonald's workers have to deal with HUNDREDS and hundreds of customers each and every day, all demanding different things and often at the same time! That's seriously hard work.

5. It's physically exhausting

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Nobody seems to give credit to the fact that working at McDonald's is physically challenging. It's exhausting rushing around, lifting, bending, and moving constantly... it's all time on their feet which is really hard work. There's no time to take a seat because there's too much to do!

6. There's barely any time off

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As a McDonald's worker, you're not appreciated enough as a brain surgeon would be to be able to request that you have time off. So there's no time to take a break, recuperate, and then come back to work. In fact, there's barely any leave at all as a McDonald's employee.

7. They have to work FAST

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At McDonald's you have to work super fast - that's the pressure that comes with being in a fast food chain. People want their food constantly. If you can't keep up, customers complain and you lose your job, it's as simple as that. You can't even have a slow day or you'll have orders coming out of your ears.

8. Customers can be aggressive

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One of the hardest elements of McDonald's that you do not get as a brain surgeon is working with aggressive customers. It should not be the case, but almost on a daily basis, employees have to face one or more angry, rude, and even aggressive customers who are verbally abusive and yell, or are sometimes even physically abusive too!

9. They have irregular hours to contend with

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As an employee at McDonald's, you do not get much choice in your shift pattern. And so you'll work irregular hours which is very hard to plan. It's hard to know where you; 'll be one week from the next in terms of your shift structure and hours which can make managing relationships and families hard.

10. There's a lot of gossip and drama!

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As if the customers weren't enough to deal with, you also have the drama and gossip that circulates through the employees. If you thought offices were the worst for it, you've clearly never worked at McDonald's where staff drama is a huge issue and you can unwillingly find yourself in the midst of it.

11. They have to deal with regular complaints

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Complaints come flying in thick and fast at McDonald's. And why, you might wonder? It can range from anything from the fries not being fresh enough or someone having waited 10 minutes for their order to more serious complaints. You name it, a McDonald's employee probably has to face it.

12. Sometimes there's not enough guidance

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Sometimes it can feel very much like you've has been thrown in at the deep end in McDonald's because it's not the kind of environment where you can be talked calmly through everything while you take your time to get to grips with things. It's too fast-paced, so sometimes you're on your own!

13. Employees don't get paid a lot

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There's also the pay that McDonald's employees have to contend with. For working long hours in a physically demanding job they do not have a wage that reflects how hard they work. There are so many aspects to the job that people don't realize, and the pay packet doesn't resemble this.

14. But they have to work super hard

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Mcdonald's workers have to take orders, remember hundreds of different things, make food, contend with the Drive Thru and so many more. All of this has to happen whilst dealing with the customers. And, a lot of these things have to be done all at once!

15. They have to work unsociable hours

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The hours can be very unsociable. Many McDonalds all over the world are now 24-hour, appealing to the post-night-out market and the travel market plus the night shift workers. So employees may find themselves working throughout the night, which can make having a family life super hard.

16. They have to remember a LOT of things

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Not only do you have to remember all of the orders and become comfortable memorizing the names of the board so that you know what people are talking about, but you also have special requests. One person wants mayo, one wants extra pickles,  and even more importantly they have to remember allergies or dietary requirements.

17. They are always under pressure from customers

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'Did you remember my extra sauces? I'm in a rush can I have mine early? I want the fries fresh as soon as they come out of the oven!' These are just a  few of the common things employees hear non-stop as continuous pressure comes from customers regarding their orders!

18. Accidents and injuries are common in the kitchen

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The kitchen is not a comfortable environment to work in. Everyone is rushing around, orders are being yelled and it's hot....REALLY hot. Dealing with hot food and ovens under such pressure and time constraints is a recipe for accidents which do happen very frequently.

19. There are a lot of standards to work by

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Don't assume that because it's a fast food chain that standards don't matter. As one of the largest food chain giants all over the globe, McDonald's has to adhere to strict food and hygiene standards. This essentially means employees have to, so there are a lot of rules to follow.

20. They have to continuously coordinate well in a team

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They can't just worry about what they are doing or work under their own steam, they have to continuously work alongside other people as a team. They have to coordinate with each other constantly so that things stay efficient, rather than employees just hindering one another.

21. They're responsible for maintaining healthy food standards

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McDonald's is a food service, and the chains feed hundreds of thousands of people each and every day. So the food standards ALWAYS have to be maintained. Otherwise, they could be making a lot of people seriously sick. Standards can never fail, which takes a lot of work and consistency.

22. Promotional times can get totally hectic

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There are high points of each day during McDonald's, there's the breakfast rush and the dinner-time rush. But then, there are weekends that are consistently crazy. especially around lunch and tea. And as for promotional times...McDonald's is absolute chaos to work.

23. The environment can be TOXIC

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You probably never picture McDonald's having such a toxic workplace. But recently more and more information is coming to light about how truly toxic it really is. Employees are treated badly, and managers have been known to treat their staff appallingly which makes some employees anxious to even go to work.

24. There's hot equipment to handle

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Equipment in the kitchen is SO hot and staff are handling them at high speeds. On countless occasions employees sustain burns, sometimes so severe that they have to see emergency help. Working in the kitchen has been ranked one of the hardest McDonald's jobs, partly for this reason!

25. Food allergies are crucial to keep in mind

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Neglecting a food allergy or not remembering a food allergy can literally be life-threatening. And it's not one customer coming into McDonalds with a food allergy, this happens frequently. Now think that these people are mixed up in the hundreds of others' orders. It's super confusing but crucial to get right!

26. Tasks are super repetitive

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Repetition can take a mental toll because it can get extremely draining. Especially when the repetitive task is hard, to know that it's the same each day is hard to face. In fact, some employees found that knowing what was to come each day made it a lot less motivating to go to work.

27. Shifts can be too long

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Shifts at work can last much longer than employees sign up for. So even if they signed up to work 8-hour shifts, this definitely isn't always the case. They may end up working really long shifts and still having to come in at the same time the following day, despite having had less time off.

28. Drive-thru workers have extremely high standards to meet

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Working the drive-thru is undoubtedly one of the hardest jobs at McDonalds. They are under a lot of pressure and they are on a constant time check, with managers checking how quickly they fulfill orders every day, despite some orders inevitably taking longer which is not taken into consideration at all!

29. They are continually undervalued

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McDonald's employees are continually undervalued, with people regularly making light about the role of working at McDonald's despite how many different aspects there are to the job. Numerous celebrities have first started out by getting a job at McDonalds and they attribute the role to teaching them a lot.

30. Dealing with the smells of grease and fat on a daily basis

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Working at McDonalds means dealing with some not-so-pleasant situations and foods. For example, while the smell of fresh fries may be delicious when you're working in the kitchen amongst hot grease and oil all day it can get very sickly very fast. Then you have to go home and the smell lingers on your clothes and your hair.