Dunkin' Donuts worker questions how her coworkers raise kids and make rent on their salaries

In today’s economy, many full-time workers are struggling to make ends meet, even when working long hours. With the rising costs of food and other essentials, covering basic needs has become a challenge. Rose, a Dunkin’ Donuts worker who goes by @rosiemhh on TikTok, brought attention to this issue by sharing her weekly pay and questioning how her co-workers with families manage on similar wages. Rose took to the platform to reveal what her take-home income looks like over several weeks.

"This can't be the same Dunkin' Donuts check my coworkers are raising kids and paying rent with," the text overlay of the video read as the woman revealed her pay through a green screen. The woman was being paid weekly and some of her weeks looked as follows: In the fourth week of July, her gross pay was $458.40, her take home was $367.58 and she worked for 28.65 hours. In the third week, her gross pay was $429.12, her take-home was 347.06 and she worked 26.82 hours. In the second week, she worked a little more than 29 hours and made her highest income in a week, which was $474.72. In the first week, she earned the lowest, which was $104.32 and her take home was $95.26.

Her total monthly income fell below $1500. In June, one of her weekly paychecks was $416 gross, with a take-home of $347.92. Another week, she earned $304.32 gross. Despite missing one week’s details, her monthly pay was likely still under $1500. The woman wondered how this income could be enough for someone with more needs than her and expressed the same through a really baffled expression. The brief clip received more than 1.2 million views and over 81.3k likes. People in the comments section of the video expressed their thoughts and shared their experiences with working at various other food chains.

@lifewnev_ wrote, "I used to make this every two weeks at Sally’s, but I just started at Target and girl? I made this in one week and they got daily pay." @logan.samuel commented, "My shift lead makes $2 more than me hourly due to being there for years. But they went out of the continent for three months and had four brand-new cars. I don’t think that adds up." @glitterfreak86 remarked, "I had to miss a week of work because I had to have surgery on my foot, so my time was only 23 hours instead of 70 hours my check was only $253 and I can't even put gas in my van."

@tinysdaughter shared, "If you know how to deal with money, it's easy. I worked at Dunkin' Donuts for six years and raised two kids. My weekly checks were $600 back in 2016 plus 400 in tips." @madea252 expressed, "It’s a sad life we live. Before becoming a nurse, I was lucky to bring home 600 biweekly. It was such a struggle moving bills around. Now I bring home 2600 but feel I’m not paid equal to what my job requires from me."

You can follow Rose (@rosiemhh) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.