The Real Reason TikTok Won't Stop Talking About A McDonald's Job Ad

Let's be honest here: There's no escaping McDonald's. It is one of the largest restaurant companies in the world, with about 38,000 locations in more than 100 countries (per McDonald's). The multinational fast-food chain, with its famous Golden Arches, has such a hold on our basic human need to eat that it raked in a whopping $23 billion in revenue in 2021 despite changes in consumer attitudes toward fast food and meat consumption.

However, McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants are struggling with supply chain issues due to the COVID pandemic. As if that wasn't enough, there's another issue at hand: labor shortage. The pandemic caused widespread layoffs and created a void in the workforce for supermarkets and fast-food chains. Now that the world is reopening and the demand for consumer-facing businesses is reigniting, McDonald's — which is one of the world's largest private employers — is facing a staffing crisis. As a result, McDonald's restaurants have tried to tackle the problem by opening 10% fewer hours before the pandemic and offering more perks, like better wages and sign-on bonuses. One McDonald's even offered a free iPhone to new employees, and another location in Florida paid people $50 just to show up for an interview. 

Recently, another McDonald's franchise took "the art of recruitment" to a new level with a peculiar job ad. One TikTok user, @yess_itsamiracle, posted a video of a McDonald's job listing that has left viewers perplexed by how the offer seems too flexible, to say the least. 

The TikToker who shared the video found it hard to believe the advertised work schedule. The video caption states, "It's hard out here for businesses," and the on-screen text of the video says, "If you're desperate, just say that." The commenters had mixed reactions. A few of the replies to the TikTok video questioned the authenticity of the claims made in the ad. However, several commenters praised the flexible schedule of McDonald's and stated things like, "McDonald's has always been like this...it's called flexible scheduling. And McDonald's is extremely flexible," and "I believe it! I worked there in college and was only scheduled the days and times I said I could work. They never asked me to cover shifts." 

Meanwhile, some commenters took a jibe at the perks listed in the job advertisement (e.g. student loan forgiveness, career advancement, and telemedicine) with reactions like, "So if I work one day a week? I can get student loan forgiveness? I may have to step," and "Loan forgiveness? I have 10k in debt so they just like pay it ..?" Nevertheless, some users were quick to praise McDonald's for helping with student loan forgiveness, with one writing, "McDonalds actually gave me $2000 a semester during undergrad. Not bad." Well, McDonald's has recently launched a program to offer partial student loan forgiveness at all locations in the metro Atlanta and northwest Georgia area (per WSB-TV).