Escalate Blog
SupportWhy Do Employees Call Out of Work? The Real Reasons, and How to Find Yours
Employers say childcare. Workers ask for transportation four times more often. Why your call-out data is wrong, and five ways to get the real reasons.
August 24, 2026
SupportHow to Tell If Your Store Is Understaffed at Peak Hours
Most stores are understaffed at the same three hours. Research across 41 stores put the cost at 6.15% of sales. How to check yours with two…
August 24, 2026
SupportWhy hunger makes a call-out more likely, not less
Food insecurity makes a call-out more likely, not less. Three mechanisms explain why, and one uncovered shift costs a quick-service operator $350.
August 21, 2026
SchedulingHow to keep call-outs from overloading your store managers
Call-outs reach a GM six or seven times a week. Escalate's McDonald's program prevented 600+ across seven restaurants, saving about $300,000.
August 21, 2026
SupportWhy Childcare Is a Workforce Issue
A mother's viral 12-hour solo shift wasn't just about understaffing. It revealed a workforce support problem hiding in plain sight.
June 4, 2026
SupportHow to Reduce Frontline Call-Outs: The 90-Minute Window
Most call-outs start in the 90 minutes before a shift, when a ride falls through or there is no food in the house. One McDonald's operator…
May 28, 2026
SupportExamining the Call-Out Ecosystem
A closer look at the hidden ecosystem behind call-outs in quick service restaurants, and why the same barriers keep compounding into turnover.
May 12, 2026