“Sell Your Xmas Gifts” And Other Pearls Of Wisdom From McDonald’s Employee Site

A few weeks back, the McDonald’s McResource employee hotline made headlines when a company rep “helped” a 10-year McDonald’s employee improve her lot in life by directing her to numerous welfare programs to supplement her income. What other gems of advice do the McResource people have for employees?

The video above, put together by the folks at Low Pay Is Not OK, a campaign seeking the ability to unionize fast food workers and increase their pay, highlights several pieces of sage advice from the McResource website, like:

Pack your bags: At least two vacations a year can cut heart attack risk by 50%.

Sing away stress: Singing along to your favorite songs can lower your blood pressure.

Break it up: Breaking food into pieces often results in eating less and still feeling full.

Quit complaining: Stress hormone levels rise by 15% after ten minutes of complaining.

And this one, in which McDonald’s suggests that employees get out from holiday debt by selling things they haven’t opened yet:

“You may also want to consider returning some of your unopened purchases that may not seem as appealing as they did. Selling some of your unwanted possessions on eBay or Craigslist could bring in some quick cash.”

A rep for McDonald’s says this is all much ado about nothing.

“This is an attempt by an outside organization to undermine a well-intended employee assistance resource website by taking isolated portions out of context,” a spokeswoman tells BusinessInsider. “The McResource website has helped countless employees by providing them with a variety of information and resources on topics ranging from health and wellness to stress and financial management.”

A recent study found that more than 50% of fast-food workers in the United States are receiving some sort of public benefits to supplement their wages. Some argue that this indicates that McDonald’s and others are using taxpayer money to subsidize the low wages they pay employees, while others contend that McDonald’s is giving these same people a place to work and a foot in the door toward a life without the need of public assistance.

via Consumerist http://consumerist.com/2013/11/21/sell-your-xmas-gifts-and-other-pearls-of-wisdom-from-mcdonalds-employee-site/