Toast (NYSE: TOST) released its 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey. Toast annually polls restaurant employees about their jobs, and the takeaway in 2026: While restaurants are feeling the pinch of a shrinking workforce — perhaps for that very reason — there’s been an uptick in restaurant industry employees’ pay and satisfaction.

Toast’s survey of 702 restaurant employees — which asked about pay, tips, benefits, AI, and more — shows a significant jump in restaurant employees’ pay satisfaction compared to 2025 and, similarly, a corresponding increase in satisfaction with benefits.1,2

Read the full 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey on the Data by Toast website.

Key takeaways from Toast’s 2026 restaurant employee perspectives tracker

Among the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:

  • Pay satisfaction is up: 67% were extremely satisfied or satisfied with their pay, up 12 points year-over-year

  • 42% of tipped employees reported tips increased in the past 12 months

  • Benefits: 62% were extremely satisfied or satisfied, up 16 points year-over-year

  • Flexible schedule & good pay: Most common favorite aspects of job (32% ranked in top three)

  • Poor hourly pay: Most common pain point (31% ranked in top three)

How do restaurant employees feel about their pay?

Among the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:

  • 67% of restaurant employees were satisfied with their pay, up 12 points year-over-year

  • 42% were satisfied, up 6 points year-over-year

  • 25% were extremely satisfied, up 6 points year-over-year

  • 14% were unsatisfied to any extent, down 8 points year-over-year

In short: Restaurant employees are, by and large, happier with their pay than previous years. Toast survey data showed a significant uptick across the board in satisfaction — in total, a 12 percentage point year-over-year rise in satisfaction. Naturally, dissatisfaction experienced a corresponding drop, with just 14% expressing they were unsatisfied to some extent, an 8 percentage point drop from 2025.

The U.S. workforce has shrunk in recent years — especially among younger people who often work in the restaurant industry — complicating operators’ task of filling out a staff. It appears those operators have responded by rewarding the employees they do have.

Do restaurant workers want to use AI?

Among the 702 restaurant employees surveyed:

  • Just ~10% of restaurant workers seem to fully reject the idea of using AI at work

  • In general, ~20% are extremely open to using AI for work tasks

  • 23% are extremely open to AI-generated end-of-shift summaries

  • 23% extremely open to AI-generated upsell suggestions

  • 12% not at all open to AI training or coaching

It’s an AI-driven world in 2026, even in restaurants, and most industry workers expressed a willingness to use AI on the job.

Toast asked respondents whether they’d be open to incorporating AI for work tasks — things like shift scheduling, upselling suggestions, or summarizing shifts — and roughly 20% were extremely open while about 10% rejected using AI outright. Overall, a majority of workers expressed some willingness to use AI for each task.

AI making its way into the lives of bartenders and servers surely indicates times are changing but, as Toast’s data shows, familiar issues — hourly pay, tips, and benefits — remain as important as ever.

Read the full 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Employee Survey on the Data by Toast website.

2026 Survey Methodology

1To help better understand the restaurant industry, Toast conducted a blind survey of 702, U.S.-based restaurant employees who are 18+, including both Toast and non-Toast customers, from Feb. 13, 2026 to March 11, 2026. Respondents did not know Toast was fielding the study. Using a standard margin of error calculation, at a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error of +/- 4%.

2Toast conducted a blind survey from January 31, 2025, to February 19, 2025, of 624 respondents 18 years old and older who are based in the US, and are currently employed at a restaurant, including both Toast and non-Toast customers. Respondents were not made aware that Toast was fielding the study. Panel providers granted incentives to restaurant respondents for participation. Using a standard margin of error calculation, the margin of error on average is +/- 4%.

About Toast

Toast [NYSE: TOST] is a global technology platform built for restaurant and retail businesses. From the busiest local restaurants and shops to large hospitality brands, Toast helps owners and operators manage their businesses more efficiently, drive guest demand, and build lasting success.

Toast integrates software, agentic AI, payments, financial technology solutions, and hardware with a broad partner ecosystem. Powering billions of purchases throughout local commerce, Toast delivers the precision and innovation required for modern restaurant and retail environments. For more information, visitwww.toasttab.com.

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