A worker recently took to TikTok to point out some red flags in a new boss who the worker says was doing “the most” by making the employee fill out a questionnaire form before every one-on-one meeting.
A TikToker uploaded a video to her account three days ago in which she details the additional work her new manager was trying to have her do before their meet-up.
As she faces the camera, the TikToker provides context for the situation in the video’s text overlay, which reads, “POV you’ve been at your job for 2 and a half years and just got a new boss and she is doing the MOST.”
She then flips the camera to her laptop which has a questionnaire form from her new boss called, “1:1 Meeting.” The TikToker scrolls through various sections titled, “Reflection,” “Action Items,” and “Additional Discussion Items,” and pauses, allowing the audience to read the questions under each section.
One question asks, “What were your highlights/lowlights since our last meeting?” Another wonders, “Who is doing a great job on the team? What have they done?” A third reads, “What progress have you made in regard to your professional goals for 2024?”
The video ends with the camera facing the TikToker again as she wordlessly looks on.
The video encapsulates the conundrum of having an overbearing manager, and how especially painful that is after you’ve worked somewhere for a while and a new, overly eager boss steps in and tries to shake things up. It also exemplifies the phenomenon of supervisors who “fail upwards,” even though they lack the skills to manage those underneath them.
Viewers also sympathized with the workers plight, and the video garnered almost 800,000 views after three days on the platform. Many shared their thoughts about this kind of managerial style in the comments.
One viewer was shocked at the level of detail being asked for in what was supposed to be a casual questionnaire. They wrote, “I thought this was a mid-year review questionnaire,” to which the creator responded, saying, “NOPE not even up for a raise rn.”
Another said, “I’d bet anything this is her first time managing a team. This is not what a 1:1 is for, she is wildly off base.” The poster agreed, “Yeah it definitely feels that way…”
A third pointed out about the extensive form, “This immediately tells me this is the kinda boss who’s not gonna listen to anything you put here anyway,” to which the worker said, “OMFG yesss I brought up an issue I had one time and shew as like ahhh oil so anyways.”
A number of viewers suggested that the worker use AI language tools to fill out the answers.
“I have chat gpt answer those and write my goals and write my end of year reflection of those goals,” one person suggested. But the worker seemed to think that even that would be going a step too far in the undertaking. She responded, “I don’t even have the effort for that, N/A it is.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the worker via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment for further information about her new boss, whether she filled out the questionnaire form, and how the meeting went.
