These 10 restaurant chains have the happiest workers, study finds

Yahoo

11-06-2025

Among the nation's major restaurant chains, In-N-Out is still supreme when it comes to the satisfaction of its workers, according to a new study.
The California-based burger chain took the top spot for a 10th straight year, according to an analysis by William Blair, an investment bank and financial services company.
The annual report spans 11 years and is built on over 530,000 reviews of almost 90 restaurant brands, according to Nation's Restaurant News.
This year's study found that when they weren't serving up Double-Doubles and Animal-Style fries, 91 percent of In-N-Out workers would recommend the job to a friend. The percentage marked a 5 percent jump from last year's study, according to industry publication QSR Magazine.
The top three chains when it comes to employee satisfaction remained unchained from 2024 to 2025, with In-N-Out followed by Raising Cane's and Dutch Bros. Hardee's was the lowest-ranked brand at 39 percent.
See the top 10 below:
Rank
Chain
Recommendation Percentage
1.
In-N-Out
91%
2.
Raising Cane's
82%
3.
Dutch Bros
78%
4.
Chuy's
78%
5.
Peet's Coffee & Tee
76%
6.
Caribou Coffee
74%
7.
Lazy Dog
74%
8.
Portillo's
73%
9.
Longhorn Steakhouse
73%
10.
Chick-fil-A
72%
In-N-Out is the only chain that has been in the top 10 every year for a decade, according to William Blair's analysis.
So what is it that's making workers at In-N-Out, Raising Cane's and others feel good about their job?
Getting a raise isn't everything, according to the study. In fact, the authors found that compensation and benefits had the lowest correlation of six measured attributes, according to Nation's Restaurant News.
The top factors were instead culture/values, senior management and work/life balance.
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