A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Miami, Florida, is pioneering a 3-day work week and has already seen staff satisfaction, retention, and applications for new roles soar.
Since February 2022, the Miami eatery, run by operator Justin Lindsey, has divided its staff into two “pods,” each responsible for three 13- to 14-hour shifts per week across six operational days. Every month, each employee is also entitled to seven days off in a row. 18 store leaders and 20 front-line workers have opted in so far.
Since February, the Miami site has maintained 100 percent retention at the management level, and a recent job listing for a 3-day position attracted over 420 applicants. Lindsey said he implemented the 3-day work week after staff made light-hearted jokes about being tired.
He admits that it would have been easier not to change anything, but the benefits have been tangible.
“I saw us flip the switch and go to this program and build this structure into it, and employees were energized, excited and goal-focused, and driven,” Lindsey said.
The operator’s experiment was driven by Chick-fil-A employees from the outset. The decision to trial the 3-day work week was implemented after surveys and interviews were conducted with existing staff about their job satisfaction and work-life balance.
Since the change, the team is closer and pods are even tighter-knit, according to Lindsey. There’s even healthy competition between them for inspections and service timings.
Working fewer but longer shifts allows individuals to shine.
Lindsey said: “You’re there with that same group of people for 13, 14 hours a day ... we’re going to able to see where the opportunities are and really work through them. At the same time, we’ll be able to capitalize on seeing when somebody is really knocking the ball out of the park and say, ‘Okay, what do we need to do to get this person moved up in the ranks?’”
The 3-day work regime has also boosted sales. The Miami eatery is looking set to reap $17 million in sales for the 2022 financial year.
The Chick-fil-A franchise has long held the policy of closing on Sundays, but Lindsey’s is the first site to implement the 3-day work week. The franchise at large doesn’t yet plan to use the model for its other locations, but Lindsey is optimistic.
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