“But yet no one’s hiring”: McDonald’s customer shocked to learn it’s just one worker doing all of the jobs at once

A McDonald’s customer is calling out the fast food giant after witnessing what she said was one woman doing the work of an entire crew—solo.

TikTok user Janae (@justtjanaee) said she stopped by a McDonald’s in her area and was shocked when she reached the front of the line. In a now-viral video, she shows a lone worker juggling everything: bagging fries, handling the drive-thru, and manning the kitchen, without any help in sight.

The store wasn’t completely slammed, but there were enough customers to make the situation feel downright unfair.

“PSA MCDONALDS!!!!! She’s working BY HERSELF!!!” Janae wrote in her clip’s overlay. As of Saturday, the video had racked up more than 7.2 million views.

Who is the McDonald’s worker—and what’s happening now?

According to Janae, the woman—who she later found out is a mom of two—was running the kitchen entirely on her own.

“She’s running an entire restaurant by herself. McDonald’s, do better,” Janae said. “She needs a raise. Immediately.”

@justtjanaee @McDonald’s Corporate ♬ original sound - Eanaj✨

Janae’s post got so much attention that it reached the woman’s family. She later shared screenshots of a conversation with the worker’s son, who confirmed his mom has been pulling this kind of weight “for years.” In response, the worker’s daughter launched a GoFundMe, which has already raised nearly $8,000.

Janae urged viewers to keep the momentum going.

“She doesn’t ever have to work for them again,” she said. “A dollar goes a long way.”

Is this even allowed?

There doesn’t appear to be a hard rule in McDonald’s corporate playbook about how many employees must be on shift in the kitchen at a time. Instead, staffing seems to vary based on how busy things get, layout, size, store layout, and time of day.

That lines up with what several self-identified McDonald’s workers have said on job forums like Indeed. Some claimed that having 3 to 5 cooks during a shift is pretty standard. One 2020 post even mentioned working with a full team of ten employees on duty at once.

“We only had 1–3 people in the kitchen and normally 2–4 up front,” another former worker wrote, noting there were usually two managers present, too.

While there may not be strict staffing requirements, McDonald’s does encourage workers to raise concerns. “If you have a McDonald’s employment-related question or concern, please take the issue up with your McDonald’s store manager,” the company’s website reads.

So, no—there’s likely no rule being broken here. But should one person really be holding down an entire McDonald’s solo? That’s a different question.

Commenters slam corporate culture 

Viewers were quick to rally behind the lone McDonald’s worker, flooding Janae’s video with outrage and disbelief.

“McDonald’s don’t care about their employees,” one commenter wrote.

“This is not OK,” another added.

“This is unacceptable, McDonald’s,” said a third. “Bless her heart.”

Many saw the moment as a grim snapshot of corporate America at large.

“The employees that work the hardest get rewarded with MORE WORK,” one viewer said.

“This is what big companies do,” another chimed in. “They don’t care, they only see employees as a number.”

Others turned their attention to hiring practices—frustrated that overworked staff like this woman are left to pick up the slack while local teens struggle to get a foot in the door.

“My 16 yr old daughter can’t find a job,” one woman shared. “Every McDonald’s in our area says she needs experience first. HOW? Yet they are saving $$ working people like this.”

“But yet no one’s hiring,” another said bluntly.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Janae via TikTok and contacted McDonald’s and the GoFundMe organizers by email.

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The post “But yet no one’s hiring”: McDonald’s customer shocked to learn it’s just one worker doing all of the jobs at once appeared first on The Daily Dot.