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‘WHY IS IT SO OMINOUS?’: Manager leaves strange work voicemail in viral TikTok, sparking debate

‘He sounds like a total creep.’

Photo of Braden Bjella

Braden Bjella

Phone in hand caption ' one year ago today our manager left my coworker this voice mail skull emoji' (l) Man hands holding phone (r)

A TikToker has gone viral after posting a video of a strange voicemail their co-worker received from their manager. The video, posted by user @halfabraincellmel, shows a woman playing the voicemail while people around her laugh heartily. Her TikTok currently has almost 700,000 views.

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https://www.tiktok.com/@halfabraincellmel/video/7075789542543904043

On first listen, the voicemail seems creepy and slightly unnerving.

“Sarah. I know you have your phone. I know you’re listening to me right now. You just don’t want to answer the phone. It’s OK. But I need you, Sarah. And I need you now,” the voicemail starts. 

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Later, the odd statements continue. “Sarah? Sarah? Don’t hang up on me, Sarah. Are you coming to work, Sarah? See you in a few minutes. Thank you so much for coming in. You got a free meal.” This closing statement causes all the women in the video to break out in laughter.

Initially, TikTokers were taken aback by this message.

“Not only am I not coming in, I am sending this to his boss and saying I’m no longer comfortable working with him,” wrote one user.

“He sounds like a total creep,” agreed another.

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Some commented on the general tone of the message.

“WHY IS IT SO OMINOUS,” one commenter stated.

However, @halfabraincellmel later commented that TikTokers were misunderstanding the interaction. The manager, she says, is actually very nice—he just has a strange sense of humor. 

“He’s just full of jokes,” she wrote in a comment. 

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She would later describe him as “the best” before saying both she and the woman featured in the video “love him.” 

Some understood the intended humor of the message from the beginning.

“He is so funny,” shared a TikToker. “I would’ve gone just because he really trying.”

“The only time I would have felt bad not going in,” another user wrote. “Love it.”

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“We can tell he’s a good manager,” noted a further TikToker.

And for those wondering if the voicemail was effective, @halfabraincellmel says: “sarah in fact did not come in that day.”

@halfabraincellmel did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment.


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