A TikToker is going viral after realizing how unfair the working conditions were in his non-corporate position compared to his current job in a corporate role. Food, service, and retail workers are sounding off in the comments sharing the unreasonable work rules they have to follow.
In the video, user Justin (@freddiesroommate) begins saying that now that he’s gone from a non-corporate job to a corporate one, he realizes how “stupid” certain rules were.
At his last job, if he had an emergency and needed to take a day off of work, it was his responsibility to find someone else to cover his shift.
“It’s an emergency. I’m not the manager. Why is it now my job?” he says, exasperated.
He goes on to say that the worst was when a restaurant manager required a death certificate if workers were missing a shift due to the death of someone close to them.
Justin shares that a co-worker had to bring in his grandma’s death certificate when she died.
His last example was from a job at an Iron Chef restaurant that fired people on the spot if they found them looking at their phones “at any time during the day,” even if it was a slow period.
“So what?” Justin exclaims.
Employees would end up taking 40-minute-long bathroom breaks because of “dumb rules,” he says.
Justin ends the video with a loud “ugh” and an eye-roll.
@freddiesroommate It was THE WORST #9to5 #millennial #corporate #corporatelife ♬ original sound – Justin
The video has 230,000 views and nearly 300 comments. “It was THE WORST,” the caption reads.
Several commenters shared their own observations about what minimum wage workers have to put up with compared to office workers.
“It’s crazy how the more ‘qualified’ your job is considered, the more basic human rights and respect you get,” one person said.
“This is why we all have to unionize,” another person added.
Others shared their own horror stories with work rules. A few of them include: a person not being able to attend their aunt’s funeral because she wasn’t “immediate family,” getting fired for visiting their mother who had cancer, getting denied time off that was requested six months in advance for a brother’s wedding, and having to quit a job because the person was in the emergency room and their manager said the worker had to leave the hospital and go to work because no one would cover their shift.
In comparison, a person who seemingly works a corporate job said their manager told them they didn’t need to bring in a doctor’s note after their sick day and to instead “focus on resting.” Another commenter who got a job outside the country said her manager told her she could study in the office.
“I think it’s a power thing. They’re at the bottom but wanna feel like they’re at the top cuz they’re name tag is gold,” a commenter wrote.
