They may feed millions of hungry consumers on a daily basis, but fast food workers say their job is hurting the world.
More than 40 percent of fast food workers say their jobs make the world a worse place, according to data analyzed by Payscale for The New York Times. Some of the other jobs where workers were likely to say their jobs are making the world a worse place? Bar tenders, attorneys, fashion designers and investment bankers -- though the share of workers in those industries expressing the same sentiment is only in the single digits.
Fast food employees may be concerned about the negative health impacts of their work, thanks to a wide variety of critics of the fast food industry that include nutrition experts and animal rights activists. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that being in close proximity to a fast food restaurant "significantly" increases the risk of obesity.
But some of the critics may be getting to the industry. McDonald's officials said earlier this month that they're going to require the eatery's pork suppliers in the U.S. to phase out crates that tightly confine pregnant pigs, a move that the Humane Society claimed would have a “seismic impact” on the fast food sector, according to the Associated Press.
Still, the fast food industry may be doing its part to keep workers' wages low. Bosses in the fast food industry are largely opposed to raising the minimum wage, according to Slate. That’s because they have to pay a large number of workers that wage, unlike full-service eateries that can pay their waitstaff less because they receive tips.
The industry is poised to shed jobs in the next 10 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects there to be 19,000 fewer fast food cooks by 2020.
These are the jobs with workers that are likely to say their job is hurting the world, according to Payscale data.
