Here's why Vancouver's $50K/year no experience dishwasher job went viral

Here's why Vancouver's $50K/year dishwasher job went viral

One Kitsilano restaurant’s job posting turned a lot of heads this month with its eye-popping salary.

While the Handi Grill’s posting on Indeed is now expired, it gained a lot of traction when it was reposted to Reddit on Saturday, October 9.

Offering a full-time, permanent, 40 hours per week dishwashing job at $25/hour – the job essentially gives you a $50,000 per year salary. In BC, the general minimum wage is now $15.20 an hour.

The original poster pointed that this could be the signs of a labour shortage. Restaurants Canada pointed out that there was a labour shortage in the industry in August 2021.

According to their survey, 80% of respondents reported that it was hard for them to hire back-of-house staff and noted that dishwashers were one of the key positions that was difficult to fill.

Commenters on the Reddit post chimed in offering their perspectives and many pointed out that dishwashing was a hard job.

“It’s hot, wet, messy and on top of that in the kitchen hierarchy,” said one Reddit user.

“Dishwashers take so much verbal abuse and passive aggression from other staff in a busy kitchen,” said another.

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The posting may have gone viral because many commenters had experienced being a dishwasher, for better or worse, and the post sparked conversations around the restaurant industry, the cost of living, and the lingering effects of COVID-19 on businesses.

While the original posting is no longer available, there are plenty of other dishwasher jobs in Vancouver that offer around $20 per hour.