Shake Shack is pressing pause on its test of a four-day work week for general managers, the fast casual confirmed Tuesday.
The chain, in an email to Restaurant Business, cited COVID-19 as the reason for putting the program on hold. A Shack Shack spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions about how the pandemic had contributed to the pause.
“There’s always a possibility that it could return, but right now Shake Shack’s workplace initiatives are focused on diversity and career growth as these are two things the company has heard from employees are important to them,” the statement said.
Shake Shack started its four-day work week as a pilot program in Las Vegas in 2018, later expanding it to restaurants in Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Antonio. By 2019, a third of the chain’s restaurants allowed managers to spread their 40 hours over four days instead of five.
But the pandemic has been especially hard on New York City-based Shake Shack, with its large concentration of urban center locations. The chain, which has 223 U.S. units, reported Q2 same-store sales down 12% from the same period in 2019—with urban restaurants down much more than their suburban counterparts.
In July, the chain said it would invest more than $10 million this year on wage increases, hiring bonuses and more, with the majority going to boosting the hourly pay of workers in more than two-thirds of its restaurants. Until last month, Shake Shack was giving newly hired managers a $1,000 bonus and new hourly workers a $500 boost at “many” locations, the company said.
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