A tech worker got an invite to an all-hands meeting and assumed it was nothing good—believing it to be a meeting where layoffs would happen.
The video comes from TikTok creator Mikala, with the anxiety-tinged Part 1 video getting more than 522,000 views in a week. The on-screen caption lays out the stark terms of the meeting she’s about to cover: “Our guesses are between layoffs and our 3 yr remote jobs are now required to be in office.”
“So my boss did a really interesting choice today,” she begins. “Two minutes before we all clocked off for the day, logged out for the day, she sent an email an all-team email, basically saying that, like, we need to talk, immediately filling everyone was anxiety.”
@mikala.reads #corporatelife #allhandsmeeting #layoffseason #layoffs #techlayoffs #remotework #remotejobs #corporate ♬ original sound – Mikala
There was a question as to whether it might be good or bad initially, with the creator floating the idea that maybe it’s raises, but as she noted, “It’s never gonna be raises.” That led her and her co-workers to ponder what their future might be.
One observed, “Companies always send out bad news on Friday right before clock out then hide.”
Another, seizing on the idea that it might be layoffs, observed, “See so many of these recently but it makes me wonder. How would remote workers like to be laid off? A surprise pizza party? What is the standard?”
The creator responded, “Not laid off when the company makes record profits would be cool. They’re hiring; they just want people who they can pay less.”
Indeed, a Part 2 video confirmed the worst, with an on-screen caption reading, “I’m laughing to stave off the panic.”
“So, meeting update,” she begins. “We’re all being forced to quit.”
While it wasn’t layoffs per se, it was a demand that her team return to the office—something untenable for a lot of the team members.
“We are comprised of single parents, immunocompromised, disabled people. A lot of people don’t have cars, a lot of people live too far away to work. For myself, personally, I live about 2000 miles away from the office—definitely not a commute I can make. So I will be forced to quit or they will fire me and lock my computer, whichever one happens first.”
She went on to say that her biggest concern was with health insurance, noting she has a son who is “currently being evaluated for autism, and he has therapy and all kinds of things that we’re paying out of pocket.”
“This is a way to layoff without laying off,” said one commenter to that video.
“Precisely,” said Mikala.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Mikala via TikTok comment.