Cheesecake Factory Says Existential Job Application Question Is Meant to 'Gauge Positivity'

Have you ever filled out a job application that asked you to consider your thoughts on life and the inherent goodness of humankind? If your answer's "No," then you probably haven't applied to work at The Cheesecake Factory lately.

A viral TikTok spotlights one of the oddest and most intense job application questions you're likely to ever see. As seen in the video, uploaded by Caitlin Alderidge, one of the slides in the Cheesecake Factory Candidate Questionnaire asks the applicant to consider their views on the state of the world and humanity as a whole.

"When I look at the world around me, I have little hope for mankind," the prompt reads. Below, the applicant has to choose one of five options: "Strongly Disagree," "Disagree," "Neutral," "Agree" or "Strongly Agree." (For a bit of added drama, Alderidge's TikTok is soundtracked by a version of Tears for Fears' "Mad World," as covered by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews.)

The Cheesecake Factory confirmed to Newsweek that this question is indeed part of its job application process. And the company said that there's a very specific reason for the heavy question.

"Our application process is designed to help assess job fit and cultural fit within our organization," Dina Barmasse-Gray, SVP of Human Resources at The Cheesecake Factory, said via email. "One of the key attributes we look for in our staff members is positivity, and that particular question is one of several that are designed to gauge that important quality."

In the TikTok, we don't get to see what Alderidge selected as their response, but the accompanying comment (and choice of music) definitely let us know how they felt about the query. "Strangely unsettling corporate job application leading to an existential crisis check," they wrote.

Alderidge's video has drawn plenty of attention. It's been viewed more than 770,000 times and brought in more than 150,000 likes—and that's just after being public for about a day or so. The comments don't disappoint, either. Jokes about the requirements of working at The Cheesecake Factory have been mentioned by users online, along with stories of other bizarre questions allegedly featured on restaurant chain applications.

"Yeah if you have too much hope for the future of humanity they don't let you work at The Cheesecake Factory," one person joked. Someone else claimed to have faced a similar sort of inquiry when applying for jobs at other corporate chains: "Red Lobster and Olive Garden application questionnaire asked me if I thought my parents would be proud of me."

Some TikTokers also questioned the fairness of asking about someone's view of the world—or their mental health. "Why are they allowed to ask this it just feels wrong to not hire someone based on their sadness," one person wrote.

Newsweek also contacted Alderidge for further comment (and thoughts on the future of humanity), but didn't hear back in time for publication.