Worker shortage impacts employed teens

Upon the emergence from the pandemic, several food businesses have experienced labor shortages, with the nation’s unemployment rate falling to 7 percent in September, according to CNBC. 

Senior Gabby Wells, who has had experience working at Panera Bread, said she faced some rather difficult moments at her job due to a limited number of workers. 

“When I used to work at Panera, it was hard to get people to cover shifts because we were short-staffed,” she said.

She said the company had become desperate for more employees just about every day that Wells was working there, which led to her boss hiring people who appeared to be unfit or unprepared for the job. 

“They just kept hiring people with a revolving door, really, in hopes of having more staying employees,” Wells said. “I just told my managers well in advance if I knew I had something to do, so I wouldn’t have to ask anyone to cover my shift, so as to avoid that situation completely.”

Wells said she believes that there was nothing Panera could do to deal with the situation more efficiently, as it wasn’t the company’s fault that people weren’t applying for jobs but that Panera management appeared resigned to the situation.

“They seemed to just be accepting their fate, so to speak, rather than really making a true effort to bring in more employees,” she said. “I could be wrong about this, but that was just my initial impression.”

By Kiley Wallace