A work-from-home worker encountering a new American boss—and the unrelenting work effort that comes with that—is complaining about being made to lead an 8am meeting. The issue? He works 9am to 5pm, taking a class in the 8am hour that keeps him from being available at that time.
The culture clash was chronicled by TikTok creator UnwedVampire (@unwedvampire), who appears to be a U.K.-based worker for an unidentified company. He explains in Part 1 of a three-part video, released on Apr. 2 and getting more than 2.5 million views as of Monday, that the new American manager he’s been assigned “is a man who loves to micromanage.” He added, “If I’m away for five minutes, he’s on my case.”
The TikToker says the manager said he needed to run a meeting for a client that commenced at 8am, The worker says he explained he couldn’t do it because it conflicted with his class.
“He was like, ‘That’s not being a team player though,’” the creator revealed. “And I was like, ‘No, but it’s outside my work hours.’ I was like, ‘It’s a class; you know what I mean?’”
The manager purportedly responded, “I don’t think you’d be considerate of other people’s time,” to which the creator says he responded, “I don’t think you’re being considerate of my time.”
The manager then allegedly threatened to report him to the company’s HR department and asked, “Do you want to progress?” The creator says he replied, “No, I quite like where I am, to be honest.”
That led to a threat from the manager implying his job was on the line.
@unwedvampire What do i even say atp #american #capitalism #work #worklife #micromanager ♬ original sound – UnwedVampire
Commenters in the original video had advice for what to do.
One simply observed, “Laugh at him in European employment law.”
Others were more specific, with one suggesting, “Email him to confirm your conversation and cc in HR.” Another suggested specific wording for such an email, cheekily using “Richard” as the hypothetical name of the boss.
Still, others realized how skewed American work expectations might be for non-Americans, with one saying, “This is definitely what working in America is like.”
Working on commenters’ suggestions that he get a “paper trail,” the creator requested confirmation in email, leading to a Part 2 video in which the manager didn’t want to put anything into an email, instead calling the creator, demanding he answer the call, faulting him for his poor listening skills, and again trying to get him to run the early meeting, saying it would be “scratching his back” and implying he would “ease up a little bit.” That led the creator to wonder if he should just assent to the request.
@unwedvampire He also said i was playing a ‘game’ ?? Lol #american #capitalism #work #worklife #micromanager ♬ original sound – UnwedVampire
In a Part Three video, he shared details from his call with HR—who pledged to talk with the manager, and who reportedly giggled over the manager’s antagonistic American ways.
“Oh, don’t worry, like he’s from America,” she told him. “Like, he’s probably still adapting and adjusting to this.”
The manager backed off on the meeting request after HR presumably counseled him, but the whole encounter left the creator open to new employment.
@unwedvampire Thank you to everyone who supported and reached out via DM! #american #capitalism #work #worklife #micromanager #personalityhire ♬ original sound – UnwedVampire
“I’m not gonna lie to you,” he sells himself to close out that video. “I’m not a hard worker, but I’m fun. I’m so fun, that I will make the office such a good day, like it will be bright and colorful and cheery.”
He then clarifies that by “office,” he means that he’s strictly work-from-home, but that “my jokes on Teams. Yeah, they slap.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.
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