Nobody Wants to Work Anymore

About

Nobody Wants To Work Anymore refers to a series of signs that appeared outside American businesses, particularly restaurants, during the spring of 2021 which stated the business was either closed or short-staffed due to "nobody" wanting to work anymore. The signs generally elicited mockery and parodies as they spread online, as people interpreted them to mean the company was having trouble attracting staff due to low wages and poor treatment of staff.

Origin

On April 9th, 2021, TikTok user @BrittanyJade903 posted a video showing a sign at a McDonald's drive-thru which read, "We are short-staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up. Nobody wants to work anymore." The video gained over 98,000 likes on the platform (shown below).

Spread

Similar signs began spreading on social media over the course of the following month. On April 14th, 2021, Twitter user @KOBPatrickHayes^[1] posted pictures of a similar sign outside a New Mexico Sonic, gaining over 8,800 retweets and 39,000 likes (shown below, left). On May 5th, 2021, Twitter user and North Carolina reporter @SabrinaNC9^[2] made a post about a Chattanooga restaurant having to close due to lack of employees, gaining over 1,100 quote-tweets and 730 likes (shown below, right).

Eater^[3] reported that while restaurateurs posted signs saying "No one wants to work," numerous factors have played into why restaurants have a hard time attracting employees. These include the fact that restaurants are re-opening at limited capacity as states ease COVID-19 restrictions, meaning front-of-house staff would be returning to a significant pay cut, as much of their income relies on tips. Cooks and dishwashers would also be working in maskless, enclosed spaces, increasing the potential risk for COVID-19 infection. The job market for restaurant workers is also very open, meaning staffers have a bevy of options when looking for work.

On social media, Twitter users believed the employment crisis facing restaurateurs stems from the poor wages and treatment thought to be typical to restaurant staff. For example, Twitter user @Chrisjollyhale^[4] quote-tweeted @SabrinaNC9's tweet about the Chattanooga restaurant and pointed out they pay $2.15 an hour. The tweet gained over 23,000 retweets and 141,000 likes (shown below, left). In a series of tweets, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich^[5] tweeted, "Let's get one thing straight: there is no labor shortage. There is a shortage of employers willing to pay their workers a living wage. Instead of: no one wants to work anymore. Try: no one wants to be exploited anymore."

The prevalence of these signs and discussions on social media led to parodies on Twitter in which people treated "We are closed. Nobody wants to work anymore" as a snowclone. For example, user @Kermit_dafrogyo^[6] tweeted a parody sign blaming Lady Dimitrescu for the work shortage, gaining over 1,200 retweets and 23,000 likes (shown below, left). User @Gahostan^[7] parodied it by including a quote from Lord of the Rings, gaining over 2,400 retweets and 12,200 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References