Ep 12: Research expert Jason Dorsey shares findings from restaurant workers study

Host Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, interviews generational researcher and Center for Generational Kinetics president Jason Dorsey about CGK’s custom national study with Instant, “Underserved: The Financial Reality of America’s Hourly Restaurant Workers.” Jason explains the study’s Census-weighted methodology and discusses the perception gap between executives and frontline realities, noting leaders often view earned wage access (EWA) negatively while frontline managers want it. Key findings include 75% of restaurant workers living paycheck to paycheck and 61% skipping a meal in the last month due to lack of funds. They describe poor alternatives due to lack of choices such as overdraft and late fees, credit card cash advances, and payday lending, and urge leaders to read the research to understand how hourly restaurant workers are trying to navigate the economy.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:34 Jason’s Background and Intro to CGK04:11 Study Setup and Method07:27 Leadership Perception Gap10:28 Most Shocking Findings12:55 Generational Differences16:12 Why EWA Matters19:12 Costly Workarounds21:28 Message to Leaders23:49 Rapid Fire Questions27:09 Closing and ResourcesInstant Financial: instant.coCenter for Generational Kinetics: https://genhq.com/Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/Connect with Jason Dorsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondorsey/ReferencesFree download of Underserved: The Financial Reality of America’s Hourly Restaurant Workers: https://www.instant.co/2026-restaurant-study/