Rising Tides Live – What Restaurant Employees Want in 2026

Interview Takeaways

Understaffing Is the Biggest Source of Stress: Restaurant employees ranked understaffing above rude customers, difficult managers, and other workplace challenges. When teams are stretched too thin, stress rises and the guest experience suffers.
Culture and Recognition Matter as Much as Pay: Low pay remains a major reason employees leave, but difficult managers, strong coworker relationships, and feeling appreciated can be just as important. Building a workplace where people feel supported and recognized can make a major difference in retention.
Listen Before Deciding What People Need: Free meals and discounts are common benefits, but employees may value paid time off, schedule flexibility, or other support more. Jordan emphasized that leaders should ask people what matters to them instead of assuming one solution works for everyone.

In this episode of Rising Tides Live, Shawn Walchef is joined by Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts, to discuss what restaurant employees want from their jobs in 2026. Drawing from 7shifts’ latest employee report, the conversation explores why understaffing remains the industry’s biggest challenge, what motivates restaurant teams beyond pay, and how operators can build stronger cultures through better leadership, recognition, and listening. Hospitality leaders from the Rising Tides community also join the conversation to share their own experiences and practical ideas for improving the employee experience.

Listen to the replay of the latest room where the participants discussed community service and follow Cali BBQ Media to keep up with the latest and join the rooms to tell your story and have your voice heard.

Every Wednesday and Friday at 10am PT, Shawn Walchef hosts the Rising Tides Live room streaming with StreamYard on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more. Leading voices in hospitality, and otherwise, from near and far join to discuss all things business and much more.

Homework Assignment

Reach out to someone you work with and thank them for something specific they’ve done recently. Recognition costs nothing, but it can have a lasting impact.

The Big Quote

Episode Links

Jordan Boesch LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-boesch/
7shifts: https://www.7shifts.com/
7shifts LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/7shifts/
2026 What Restaurant Employees Want Report: https://www.7shifts.com/what-restaurant-employees-want/

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About Cali BBQ Media

Digital Hospitality is an interview-based video podcast hosted by business owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) and produced by his Cali BBQ Media company. The weekly digital series explores the ways successful businesses and entrepreneurs have merged old and new with innovative digital strategies that harness the power of the Internet and social media. Shawn is the founder of Cali BBQ Media and creator of the Restaurant Influencers podcast on Entrepreneur Media.

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