The theme chosen for the study is the tiredness that arises in McDonald’s Restaurants. McDonald’s restaurant is one of the globally known places for the delicacies of the fast-food chain. The restaurant serves many people daily, roughly millions of customers, making it the most compelling setting to examine the impact of tiredness on the health and well-being of its employees. Tiredness in the workplace constitutes one of the most prevalent concerns in society, and this mainly occurs in regions that require employees to work in a tight schedule with many tasks imposed on them (Work and Fatigue | NIOSH | CDC, 2023). Tiredness, commonly referred to as fatigue, is a state of physical or mental exhaustion of an individual that results from extended periods of work or other activities without sufficient rest or recovery time. Tiredness is graded as one of the most crucial factors in a workplace that can severely jeopardize the employees’ effectiveness, derailing the productivity of the associated companies.
McDonald’s, being one of the most decorated companies worldwide and being a fast-paced environment workplace, offers a good background to observe and understand the challenges that come with the theme of tiredness in the workplace and how best to overcome it. It is evident that studying the issue of tiredness n the McDonald’s can offer a detailed lead on the broader implications of the issues of tiredness and fatigue in key sectors such as the hospitality sector. This may lead to a potential identification of strategies to enhance employee welfare and improve operational efficiency (Prichard, 2021). In McDonald’s restaurants, tiredness can arise from long working hours, inadequate breaks, high job demands, and irregular schedules. Furthermore, the demanding nature of the McDonald’s workplaces that do rise from high customer turn-out and peak hours in the business may impact the employee’s physical health, emotional well-being, and job performance. The key factors contributing to the high rate of tiredness and fatigue n McDonald’s restaurants include the: High Workload, Irregular Shifts, Short Breaks, and issues with Repetitive Tasks. Tiredness in McDonald’s restaurants has recognized impacts on the well-being of the employees that might have faced these challenges in their work course (Chico, 2023). These impacts include the; physical impacts that arise in cases where prolonged tiredness results in some chronic health-related issues such as musculoskeletal problems, headaches, and increased susceptibility to illnesses due to weakened immune systems. On matters of mental health, the theme of tiredness leads to the occurrences of stress anxiety and a recognizable deterioration in the job satisfaction of the individuals.
Current approach
Shift scheduling is McDonald’s best approach to address the prevalence of tiredness in its jurisdiction. Because The fast-paced nature of the restaurant industry demands continuous operation, often requiring employees to work in irregular shifts that make the employees report to work at all times, including early mornings, late nights, and weekends. In most occasions, in order to address these irregular time allocations, the managers always assign the employees different kinds of work with different time lengths to give room for good shift scheduling (Friedman, 2020).
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current Approach:
The strengths
- The current approach improves the best test of flexibility in the workplace. The implications of shift scheduling give room and chances to the employees to do their allocated work at their best time.
- Continuous operations in the restaurant. Shift-scheduling aids in the fact that the company remains operational 24/7. This leads to the customers’ satisfaction.
- It helps the company to do adequate staffing of their employees. This guarantees the company has a good number of employees in operation, especially during peak hours, to help manage the high turn-ups of customers.
The weaknesses of the approach
- This approach can also lead to fatigue among the employees. It is notable that the occurrences of Irregular and extended shifts, in most cases, lead to sleep deprivation and chronic fatigue among employees, negatively impacting their performance and overall well-being in the workplace.
- The implications of the shift-scheduling may lead to the depreciation of one’s work-life balance. This can lead to increased stress levels on the employees, decreasing their productivity.
- Shift scheduling can also have some health risks for the employees. Long working hours and late-night shifts can increase health risks like cardiovascular issues, obesity, and mental health challenges.
Relevant Health and Workplace Legislation and Policy
- Occupational Health and Safety Regulations: By this law, the McDonald’s restaurant must agree with the rules that govern its employees’ health and safety, hence coming up with a friendlier environment to do their tasks well (Ahn et al., 2022). Maintaining a safe environment by the organizations ensures a fatigue-free environment for the employees.
- Working Time Regulations: This body helps regulate employees’ time at their workplaces. This body guarantees the employees some adequate rest hours that help mitigate tiredness issues.
- Fair Work Act: This body guarantees the employees the best standards for fair working conditions. It also guarantees the employees the right and freedom to debate their working schedule with their employers.
McDonald’s Response to Legislation
In response to the legislation mentioned above, McDonald’s has become a more committed company that complies with health and workplace legislation. The company provides good training on the health and safety protocols in its jurisdictions and offers resources to raise awareness about fatigue management.
Areas of Delivery for Improvement
The different areas that need improvement are the following;
- Implementing Fatigue Management Strategies: McDonald’s restaurant ought to invest in educational programs for their managers and employees on the best ways to identify the causative agents of tiredness in that workplace and the best way to mitigate its prevalence.
- Flexible Shift Preferences: The McDonald’s company should develop a system that helps the employees key in the best working shift times.
- Rotating Shift Schedules: The McDonald’s restaurant should develop a shift rotating system that would help distribute the impacts of late-night shifts.
- Monitoring and Support: Regular assessments of the employees’ fatigue levels should be done to promote a more profound work environment.
Improvements Plans
Improvement Plan 1: Implementation of the Predictive Analytics to Address Tiredness in McDonald’s Restaurants
The incorporation of Predictive Analytics to Address Tiredness in McDonald’s Restaurants
Can be met through the leveraging of relevant, up-to-date evidence and the better utilization of the appropriate technologies in a bid to optimize the employees scheduling. The McDonald’s restaurant should access the old data records to be a good foundation for predictive modeling. The effective utilization of machine learning algorithms plays a good role in McDonald’s restaurants, especially in implementing predictive models (Mohd Nasir et al., 2022). The implications of Advanced algorithms like time series analysis, regression, and machine learning can be applied to identify patterns and trends, allowing managers to plan staffing needs proactively. There should be a good implementation of real-time monitoring to help continuously track customer traffic and overload issues (Fatigue et al., n.d.). Through the integration of these models, the managers come up with the best ways to help adjust the employee’s shifts and help in alerting them in case of any abrupt changes. The implications of the Mobile Scheduling Apps are to help employees have an easier time viewing their shifts at any time and an easier way to request time off. The companies that successfully implemented this strategy include Starbucks, which implemented it to have a good forecast of customer traffic and to optimize staffing levels (Baykaner et al., 2018). The Walmart company implemented this strategy successfully in optimizing the scheduling, considering factors like weather, seasonal trends, and historical data.
Evaluation Plan
first on the evaluation plan is the pre-implementation baseline of the improvement plan. This includes collecting the baseline data and the metrics of the employee’s tiredness rates and how they affect their well-being in the industry. This is done to achieve a well-balanced measure of the improvement plans after implementation. The employee survey is conducted to collect the appropriate feedback from the employees. These help track the turnover rates in the company before and after implementing the improvement plan. There should be a thorough monitoring of customer satisfaction to help realize that implementing the improvement plan helps the delivery targets of the company.
Improvement Plan 2: Provide Sufficient Rest Breaks
Providing sufficient rest breaks is vital to addressing tiredness in the workplace, especially in fast-paced environments like McDonald’s restaurants. Numerous studies have confirmed that providing sufficient rest breaks in a workplace is key to promoting the company’s productivity and improving the overall well-being of the employees. A study done by conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2019 came up with the confirmation that regular rest breaks not only took the employees off the jaws of stress but also aided in better productivity rates within a company (Gurubhagavatula et al., 2021). The study further recommended that a short break of 10-15 minutes every two hours would have a very good impact on the well-being of the employees, preventing them from accidents that occur from tiredness. Several companies, such as Starbucks, have been successful in the implementation of such an improvement plan. The Starbucks company offers its employees 10-minute and 30-minute-long lunch breaks.
For a better implementation of the plan, McDonald’s should come up with a more comprehensive review of the current rest break policies. They have to have a good identification of their shortcomings. From the evidence provided above on the successful companies that opted for the plan like the Starbucks, a good rest break should be implemented by McDonald’s to help mitigate tiredness issues (Querstret et al., 2020). McDonald’s should develop advanced scheduling software to optimize rest break allocation based on employee availability, workload, and peak periods. The restaurant should also provide an effective automated rest break reminder for employees to prompt them to take their breaks at the scheduled times.
Evaluation Plan for Rest Break Improvement Strategy
The McDonald’s restaurant ought to collect good data from the employees before and after the implementation. In the case of McDonald, this can be met through surveys and focus groups. The use of different customer performance metrics should also be implemented in the course of the evaluation. In order to know the effectiveness of the improvement plan, there should be a comparison of the performance and employee satisfaction levels of McDonald’s restaurants that implemented the new rest break policy with those that did not.
Improvement plan 3: Offer Fatigue Management Training
Offering the best fatigue management training programs to employers and employees is key to realizing how best they can recognize the causative agents of tiredness and how best to mitigate the problem. In order to achieve this, McDonald’s restaurants ought to develop the best fatigue management training programs that provide specific help to their employees (Thomas et al., 2019). The kind of training programs offered should cover the causes and the effects it has on the individuals and the best ways to prevent oneself from it. The McDonald’s company should develop a very good partnership with health experts from the relevant fields to affirm that the training offered should be up-to-date. The different concerned Industry-leading organizations and research institutions can come forward and offer valuable insights and credibility to the training initiatives. In the cases of a geographically dispersed workforce, the company should implement E-learning platforms to help deliver the training more efficiently. Many companies have implanted this improvement plan in recent years and have been very successful in their operations (MENDONCA et al., 2019). For instance, Southwest Airlines implemented a very effective fatigue management program that included the pilot and cabin crew training programs intending to recognize the causative agents of the issues of fatigue and the best ways to mitigate it. The program’s output was very positive, with a report of reduced fatigue-related accidents. Other excellent companies included; FedEx, which introduced it to its drivers. The commonly known company that collapsed due to the tiredness of the operators was the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The reports stated that the operators were very fatigued from the onsets of the long working hours that derailed the safety of the operation plant.
Evaluation Plan for Improvement Strategies
McDonald’s should collect data on employee metrics such as job satisfaction, absenteeism rates, accident/incident reports, and performance metrics before and after implementing the fatigue management training. The restaurant ought to conduct employee surveys to know the impacts of the training programs on their day-to-day lives. Conduction of incident analysis to help analyze the fatigue-related incidents that might occur after the training sessions.
Improvement Plan 4: Implement Flexible Scheduling
The improvement plan of flexible scheduling is key to realizing a fatigue-free environment in the McDonald’s restaurant. In order to effectively implement this strategy, the restaurant should conduct a comprehensive workforce analysis to aid the know employee preferences, availability, and peak business hours (Ajoulabadi et al., 2020). The data collected through this helps the company develop a scheduling system that perfectly accommodates all the employees. Just like the companies such as Starbucks that excelled in this strategy, it is very key for McDonald’s to invest in scheduling software that would help in factoring the employees’ labor laws and business demands can streamline the process and ensure fairness in scheduling. From the studies, implementing self-scheduling options might be essential to the well-being of the employees at McDonald’s restaurants (Ding & Gu, 2020). This is evident after the likes of Best Buy company excelled in the strategy. Self-scheduling options in a restaurant will eventually help improve the employees’ work-life balance, enhancing their job satisfaction.
The implementation of shift swapping can also help in effectively implementing the strategy. This encompasses the trading of the shift times among the employees. This approach has been successful in the Zappos company, resulting in a recognizable decrease in absenteeism and improved morale (SHRM, 2021). Transparent communication regarding scheduling changes, shift availability, and upcoming business demands is vital.
Evaluation Plan for the Improvement Strategies
first on the evaluation plan is the pre-implementation baseline of the improvement plan. This includes collecting the baseline data and the metrics of the employee’s tiredness rates and how they affect their well-being in the industry. This is done to achieve a well-balanced measure of the improvement plans after implementation. Effective tracking of the key performance indicators (KPIs) such as customer satisfaction, employee productivity, and sales ought to help employers know the effectiveness of the improvement plan under review. The employee survey is conducted to collect the appropriate feedback from the employees. These help track the turnover rates in the company before and after implementing the improvement plan. There should be a thorough monitoring of customer satisfaction to help realize that implementing the improvement plan does not hinder the delivery targets of the company.
Conclusion
In summary, the theme of tiredness in the workplace, such as the McDonald’s restaurants, requires a comprehensive and data-driven approach. By implementing strategies such as; predictive analytics, sufficient rest breaks, fatigue management training, and flexible scheduling, McDonald’s can enhance employee well-being, job satisfaction, and overall productivity. The available Success stories from other companies used in this literature serve as valuable references. At the same time, thorough evaluation plans will provide insights into the impact of these improvements on the company’s operations and employee welfare.
References
Ahn, Y., Rhie, J., & Kim, M.-G. (2022). The relevant factors of work-related fatigue for occupational vibration-exposed employees. Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 34(1). https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2022.34.e6
Ajoulabadi, A., Ravadanegh, S. N., & Behnam Mohammadi-Ivatloo. (2020). Flexible scheduling of reconfigurable microgrid-based distribution networks considering demand response program. Energy, 196, 117024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.117024
Baykaner, K. R., Huckvale, M., Whiteley, I., Andreeva, S., & Ryumin, O. (2018). Predicting Fatigue and Psychophysiological Test Performance from Speech for Safety-Critical Environments. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2015.00124
Chico. (2023, June 16). Why Does McDonald’s Make Me Tired? The Real Truth Behind It… – Chico’s Burger. https://chicosburger.com/why-does-mcdonalds-make-me-tired/
Ding, H., & Gu, X. (2020). Improved particle swarm optimization algorithm-based novel encoding and decoding schemes for flexible job shop scheduling problems. Computers & Operations Research, p. 121, 104951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2020.104951
Fatigue Management System & Impairment Testing. (n.d.). Predictive Safety. Retrieved July 20, 2023, from https://predictivesafety.com/
Friedman, J. S. (2020, December 21). Fatigue and Workplace Accidents. Silverman, McDonald & Friedman. https://www.smflegal.com/2020/12/21/fatigue-and-workplace-accidents/
Gurubhagavatula, I., Barger, L. K., Barnes, C. M., Basner, M., Boivin, D. B., Dawson, D., Drake, C. L., Flynn-Evans, E. E., Mysliwiec, V., Patterson, P. D., Reid, K. J., Samuels, C., Shattuck, N. L., Kazmi, U., Carandang, G., Heald, J. L., & Van Dongen, H. P. A. (2021). Guiding principles for determining work shift duration and addressing the effects of work shift duration on performance, safety, and health: guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 44(11). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab161
MENDONCA, F., Keller, J., & Lu, C. (2019). Fatigue Identification and Management in Flight Training: An Investigation of Collegiate Aviation Pilots. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 6(5). https://commons.erau.edu/ijaaa/vol6/iss5/13/
Mohd Nasir, D. S., Sabri, N. D. A., Shafii, N. H., & Abu Hasan, S. (2022). Shift Scheduling with the Goal Programming Approach in Fast-Food Restaurant: McDonald’s in Kelantan. Journal of Computing Research and Innovation, 7(1), 99–107. https://doi.org/10.24191/jcrinn.v7i1.279
Prichard, K. (2021). 7 Signs of Fatigue and How it Affects the Workplace. OMAG. https://www.omag.org/news/2021/5/1/7-signs-of-fatigue-and-how-it-affects-the-workplace
Querstret, D., O’Brien, K., Skene, D. J., & Maben, J. (2020). Improving fatigue risk management in healthcare: A systematic scoping review of sleep-related/fatigue-management interventions for nurses and midwives. International Journal of Nursing Studies, p. 106, 103513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.103513
SHRM. (2021, August 19). Managing Flexible Work Arrangements. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingflexibleworkarrangements.aspx
Thomas, S., Pulman, A., Thomas, P., Collard, S., Jiang, N., Dogan, H., Davies Smith, A., Hourihan, S., Roberts, F., Kersten, P., Pretty, K., Miller, J. K., Stanley, K., & Gay, M.-C. (2019). Digitizing a Face-to-Face Group Fatigue Management Program: Exploring the Views of People With Multiple Sclerosis and Health Care Professionals Via Consultation Groups and Interviews. JMIR Formative Research, 3(2), e10951. https://doi.org/10.2196/10951
Work and Fatigue | NIOSH | CDC. (2023, March 2). Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fatigue/default.html#:~:text=Fatigue%20has%20been%20described%20as
write