{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"176873","rtpr_id":"nBw4jPn8ga-20261022","ticker":"TOST","exchange":"NYSE","all_tickers":["TOST"],"title":"Toast’s 2026 Restaurant Employee Survey: How Industry Workers Feel About Pay, Tips, Benefits, and AI","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-10-22T12:00:00.603Z","article_body":"Toast’s 2026 Restaurant Employee Survey: How Industry Workers Feel About\nPay, Tips, Benefits, and AI\n\nToast (NYSE: TOST) released its 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey.\nToast annually polls restaurant employees about their jobs, and the takeaway\nin 2026: While restaurants are feeling the pinch of a shrinking workforce —\nperhaps for that very reason — there’s been an uptick in restaurant\nindustry employees’ pay and satisfaction.\n\nToast’s survey of 702 restaurant employees — which asked about pay, tips,\nbenefits, AI, and more — shows a significant jump in restaurant employees’\npay satisfaction compared to 2025 and, similarly, a corresponding increase in\nsatisfaction with benefits.(1,2)\n\nRead the full 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey on the Data by\nToast website\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpos.toasttab.com%2Fblog%2Fdata%2Frestaurant-employee-statistics&esheet=54626721&newsitemid=20261022590874&lan=en-US&anchor=Data+by+Toast+website&index=1&md5=070f9473ea6ef6d35f8a719b9ff1e28c)\n.\n\nKey takeaways from Toast’s 2026 restaurant employee perspectives tracker\n\nAmong the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:\n\n\n * Pay satisfaction is up: 67% were extremely satisfied or satisfied with their\npay, up 12 points year-over-year\n\n * 42% of tipped employees reported tips increased in the past 12 months\n\n * Benefits: 62% were extremely satisfied or satisfied, up 16 points\nyear-over-year\n\n * Flexible schedule & good pay: Most common favorite aspects of job (32%\nranked in top three)\n\n * Poor hourly pay: Most common pain point (31% ranked in top three)\n\nHow do restaurant employees feel about their pay?\n\nAmong the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:\n\n\n * 67% of restaurant employees were satisfied with their pay, up 12 points\nyear-over-year\n\n * 42% were satisfied, up 6 points year-over-year\n\n * 25% were extremely satisfied, up 6 points year-over-year\n\n * 14% were unsatisfied to any extent, down 8 points year-over-year\n\nIn short: Restaurant employees are, by and large, happier with their pay than\nprevious years. Toast survey data showed a significant uptick across the board\nin satisfaction — in total, a 12 percentage point year-over-year rise in\nsatisfaction. Naturally, dissatisfaction experienced a corresponding drop,\nwith just 14% expressing they were unsatisfied to some extent, an 8 percentage\npoint drop from 2025.\n\nThe U.S. workforce has shrunk in recent years — especially among younger\npeople who often work in the restaurant industry — complicating operators’\ntask of filling out a staff. It appears those operators have responded by\nrewarding the employees they do have.\n\nDo restaurant workers want to use AI?\n\nAmong the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:\n\n\n * Just ~10% of restaurant workers seem to fully reject the idea of using AI at\nwork\n\n * In general, ~20% are extremely open to using AI for work tasks\n\n * 23% are extremely open to AI-generated end-of-shift summaries\n\n * 23% extremely open to AI-generated upsell suggestions\n\n * 12% not at all open to AI training or coaching\n\nIt’s an AI-driven world in 2026, even in restaurants\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpos.toasttab.com%2Fblog%2Fdata%2Fq1-2026-restaurant-ai-pos-trends&esheet=54626721&newsitemid=20261022590874&lan=en-US&anchor=even+in+restaurants&index=2&md5=a55d6eeaa2a306835227393e0151caf7)\n, and most industry workers expressed a willingness to use AI on the job.\n\nToast asked respondents whether they’d be open to incorporating AI for work\ntasks — things like shift scheduling, upselling suggestions, or summarizing\nshifts — and roughly 20% were extremely open while about 10% rejected using\nAI outright. Overall, a majority of workers expressed some willingness to use\nAI for each task.\n\nAI making its way into the lives of bartenders and servers surely indicates\ntimes are changing but, as Toast’s data shows, familiar issues — hourly\npay, tips, and benefits — remain as important as ever.\n\nRead the full 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey on the Data by\nToast website\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpos.toasttab.com%2Fblog%2Fdata%2Frestaurant-employee-statistics&esheet=54626721&newsitemid=20261022590874&lan=en-US&anchor=Data+by+Toast+website&index=3&md5=9cf8117ecb5b7c7033e3334bbe985ba0)\n.\n\n2026 Survey Methodology\n\n(1)To help better understand the restaurant industry, Toast conducted a blind\nsurvey of 702, U.S.-based restaurant employees who are 18+, including both\nToast and non-Toast customers, from Feb. 13, 2026 to March 11, 2026.\nRespondents did not know Toast was fielding the study. Using a standard margin\nof error calculation, at a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error of\n+/- 4%.\n\n(2)Toast conducted a blind survey from January 31, 2025, to February 19, 2025,\nof 624 respondents 18 years old and older who are based in the US, and are\ncurrently employed at a restaurant, including both Toast and non-Toast\ncustomers. Respondents were not made aware that Toast was fielding the study.\nPanel providers granted incentives to restaurant respondents for\nparticipation. Using a standard margin of error calculation, the margin of\nerror on average is +/- 4%.\n\nAbout Toast\n\nToast [NYSE: TOST] is a global technology platform built for restaurant and\nretail businesses. From the busiest local restaurants and shops to large\nhospitality brands, Toast helps owners and operators manage their businesses\nmore efficiently, drive guest demand, and build lasting success.\n\nToast integrates software, agentic AI, payments, financial technology\nsolutions, and hardware with a broad partner ecosystem. Powering billions of\npurchases throughout local commerce, Toast delivers the precision and\ninnovation required for modern restaurant and retail environments. For more\ninformation, visitwww.toasttab.com.\n\nTOST-CORP\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261022590874/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261022590874/en/)\n\nMedia: media@toasttab.com \n(mailto:media@toasttab.com) \nInvestors: IR@toasttab.com (mailto:IR@toasttab.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw4jPn8ga-20261022","title":"Toast’s 2026 Restaurant Employee Survey: How Industry Workers Feel About Pay, Tips, Benefits, and AI","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"TOST","created":"2026-10-22T12:00:00.603Z","tickers":["TOST"],"exchange":"NYSE","article_body":"Toast’s 2026 Restaurant Employee Survey: How Industry Workers Feel About\nPay, Tips, Benefits, and AI\n\nToast (NYSE: TOST) released its 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey.\nToast annually polls restaurant employees about their jobs, and the takeaway\nin 2026: While restaurants are feeling the pinch of a shrinking workforce —\nperhaps for that very reason — there’s been an uptick in restaurant\nindustry employees’ pay and satisfaction.\n\nToast’s survey of 702 restaurant employees — which asked about pay, tips,\nbenefits, AI, and more — shows a significant jump in restaurant employees’\npay satisfaction compared to 2025 and, similarly, a corresponding increase in\nsatisfaction with benefits.(1,2)\n\nRead the full 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey on the Data by\nToast website\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpos.toasttab.com%2Fblog%2Fdata%2Frestaurant-employee-statistics&esheet=54626721&newsitemid=20261022590874&lan=en-US&anchor=Data+by+Toast+website&index=1&md5=070f9473ea6ef6d35f8a719b9ff1e28c)\n.\n\nKey takeaways from Toast’s 2026 restaurant employee perspectives tracker\n\nAmong the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:\n\n\n * Pay satisfaction is up: 67% were extremely satisfied or satisfied with their\npay, up 12 points year-over-year\n\n * 42% of tipped employees reported tips increased in the past 12 months\n\n * Benefits: 62% were extremely satisfied or satisfied, up 16 points\nyear-over-year\n\n * Flexible schedule & good pay: Most common favorite aspects of job (32%\nranked in top three)\n\n * Poor hourly pay: Most common pain point (31% ranked in top three)\n\nHow do restaurant employees feel about their pay?\n\nAmong the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:\n\n\n * 67% of restaurant employees were satisfied with their pay, up 12 points\nyear-over-year\n\n * 42% were satisfied, up 6 points year-over-year\n\n * 25% were extremely satisfied, up 6 points year-over-year\n\n * 14% were unsatisfied to any extent, down 8 points year-over-year\n\nIn short: Restaurant employees are, by and large, happier with their pay than\nprevious years. Toast survey data showed a significant uptick across the board\nin satisfaction — in total, a 12 percentage point year-over-year rise in\nsatisfaction. Naturally, dissatisfaction experienced a corresponding drop,\nwith just 14% expressing they were unsatisfied to some extent, an 8 percentage\npoint drop from 2025.\n\nThe U.S. workforce has shrunk in recent years — especially among younger\npeople who often work in the restaurant industry — complicating operators’\ntask of filling out a staff. It appears those operators have responded by\nrewarding the employees they do have.\n\nDo restaurant workers want to use AI?\n\nAmong the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:\n\n\n * Just ~10% of restaurant workers seem to fully reject the idea of using AI at\nwork\n\n * In general, ~20% are extremely open to using AI for work tasks\n\n * 23% are extremely open to AI-generated end-of-shift summaries\n\n * 23% extremely open to AI-generated upsell suggestions\n\n * 12% not at all open to AI training or coaching\n\nIt’s an AI-driven world in 2026, even in restaurants\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpos.toasttab.com%2Fblog%2Fdata%2Fq1-2026-restaurant-ai-pos-trends&esheet=54626721&newsitemid=20261022590874&lan=en-US&anchor=even+in+restaurants&index=2&md5=a55d6eeaa2a306835227393e0151caf7)\n, and most industry workers expressed a willingness to use AI on the job.\n\nToast asked respondents whether they’d be open to incorporating AI for work\ntasks — things like shift scheduling, upselling suggestions, or summarizing\nshifts — and roughly 20% were extremely open while about 10% rejected using\nAI outright. Overall, a majority of workers expressed some willingness to use\nAI for each task.\n\nAI making its way into the lives of bartenders and servers surely indicates\ntimes are changing but, as Toast’s data shows, familiar issues — hourly\npay, tips, and benefits — remain as important as ever.\n\nRead the full 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey on the Data by\nToast website\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpos.toasttab.com%2Fblog%2Fdata%2Frestaurant-employee-statistics&esheet=54626721&newsitemid=20261022590874&lan=en-US&anchor=Data+by+Toast+website&index=3&md5=9cf8117ecb5b7c7033e3334bbe985ba0)\n.\n\n2026 Survey Methodology\n\n(1)To help better understand the restaurant industry, Toast conducted a blind\nsurvey of 702, U.S.-based restaurant employees who are 18+, including both\nToast and non-Toast customers, from Feb. 13, 2026 to March 11, 2026.\nRespondents did not know Toast was fielding the study. Using a standard margin\nof error calculation, at a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error of\n+/- 4%.\n\n(2)Toast conducted a blind survey from January 31, 2025, to February 19, 2025,\nof 624 respondents 18 years old and older who are based in the US, and are\ncurrently employed at a restaurant, including both Toast and non-Toast\ncustomers. Respondents were not made aware that Toast was fielding the study.\nPanel providers granted incentives to restaurant respondents for\nparticipation. Using a standard margin of error calculation, the margin of\nerror on average is +/- 4%.\n\nAbout Toast\n\nToast [NYSE: TOST] is a global technology platform built for restaurant and\nretail businesses. From the busiest local restaurants and shops to large\nhospitality brands, Toast helps owners and operators manage their businesses\nmore efficiently, drive guest demand, and build lasting success.\n\nToast integrates software, agentic AI, payments, financial technology\nsolutions, and hardware with a broad partner ecosystem. Powering billions of\npurchases throughout local commerce, Toast delivers the precision and\ninnovation required for modern restaurant and retail environments. For more\ninformation, visitwww.toasttab.com.\n\nTOST-CORP\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261022590874/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261022590874/en/)\n\nMedia: media@toasttab.com \n(mailto:media@toasttab.com) \nInvestors: IR@toasttab.com (mailto:IR@toasttab.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-10-22T12:00:00.728449339Z","server_sent_at_ms":1792670400728},"received_at":"2026-10-22T12:00:00.857Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261022590874/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"164839","press_release_id":"176873","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Software","sector":"Information Technology"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"Toast released its 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey, polling 702 U.S. restaurant employees on pay, tips, benefits, and AI attitudes.\n\nPay satisfaction rose 12 points year-over-year to 67%, and benefits satisfaction climbed 16 points to 62%, amid a shrinking restaurant workforce.\n\nRoughly 20% of workers are extremely open to using AI on the job while about 10% reject it outright, supporting Toast's narrative around AI adoption in restaurants.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Content-marketing survey data -- potential color for restaurant labor/AI trend commentary but not a postable TOST event."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"open_to_ai_pct":"~20% extremely open, ~10% fully reject AI at work","pay_satisfaction_pct":"67% (up 12 points YoY)","survey_respondents_2025":624,"survey_respondents_2026":702,"benefits_satisfaction_pct":"62% (up 16 points YoY)","tipped_employees_reporting_tip_increase_pct":"42%"}},"quotedText":"","namedEntities":{"people":[],"products":["Data by Toast","Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey"],"companies":[{"name":"Toast","ticker":"TOST","relationship":"filer/survey publisher"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"Annual marketing survey publication with no financial results, guidance, or business developments affecting Toast directly. Content-marketing/brand-awareness release."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"TOST"},"globalImportance":10,"audienceRelevance":15,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"mid-cap","eventGravity":"marketing-survey","issuerAuthored":true,"financialMateriality":"none"}},"event_type":"other","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":1,"narrative":"Toast released its 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey, polling 702 U.S. restaurant employees on pay, tips, benefits, and AI attitudes.\n\nPay satisfaction rose 12 points year-over-year to 67%, and benefits satisfaction climbed 16 points to 62%, amid a shrinking restaurant workforce.\n\nRoughly 20% of workers are extremely open to using AI on the job while about 10% reject it outright, supporting Toast's narrative around AI adoption in restaurants.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"open_to_ai_pct":"~20% extremely open, ~10% fully reject AI at work","pay_satisfaction_pct":"67% (up 12 points YoY)","survey_respondents_2025":624,"survey_respondents_2026":702,"benefits_satisfaction_pct":"62% (up 16 points YoY)","tipped_employees_reporting_tip_increase_pct":"42%"}},"named_entities":{"people":[],"products":["Data by Toast","Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey"],"companies":[{"name":"Toast","ticker":"TOST","relationship":"filer/survey publisher"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:5c812bd9e28b810d","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-10-22T12:00:08.662Z","global_importance":10,"audience_relevance":15,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"mid-cap","eventGravity":"marketing-survey","issuerAuthored":true,"financialMateriality":"none"}},"durationMs":4685,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flashx"}}