Emily Duprie
Acclaimed TikToker, Devin (@devinraimo) spoke out about her outlandish work conditions with a “Big 4” company. Her traumatizing experience involved having to “tell each other when (they) were showering.”
In case you aren’t aware, the “Big 4” is what people have coined the four largest accounting firms in the United States, and they consists of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler. There are known horror stories that come with working with these companies, though depending on how you come into the practice, some people are able to get along just fine.
Devin’s viral video about her experience with one of these firms really got the TikTok community talking. Many could relate to the unfair working hours and incredibly invasive corporate systems at one point or another throughout their lives, whether it was with a big 4 firm or not. Staying 15 minutes late to finish off a few last-minute emails or eating leftovers in a break room both seem like extremely minor inconveniences in comparison to what Devin had to go through.
This TikToker’s viral video of her traumatizing working conditions at her “Big 4” company received over 2 million views on the platform. She explained in detail what went down:
So when I was in college, I got this job right out of college that seemed like a really good job. And I knew that the hours were going to be long, especially at certain times of the year. But everyone was like, ‘Oh, no, it’s not that bad.’ And at first, it wasn’t that bad. Like, I would be working until, like, 10 o’clock.” And I was like, okay, that’s not that bad. But then things got, like, really weird. All of a sudden, we had a team check-in meeting every day at 2 AM. And you would get assigned work during the check-in meeting that you were expected to do right after the check-in meeting.
Devin explained how working at her firm became a little awkward once workers were expected to keep in touch with one another about when exactly they would be showering and such. So on top of being assigned work after midnight, they couldn’t even do it on their own time.
It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, now we’re all gonna go to bed.’ It was like, ‘Oh, now we’re all gonna, like, get started on something.” So it just got, like, so weird because we all had to tell each other when we were showering, so that everyone knew that you didn’t accidentally fall asleep.
The TikToker then shared the story of how a SWAT team was once called on one of her coworkers when he wasn’t around due to him being in the shower.
So you’d be like, ‘Hey, jumping in the shower,’ or someone would text your personal number and be like, ‘Hey, are you in the shower?’ And it was like, why are we all telling each other when we’re showering? One night around 1 AM, my coworker Greg was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna take a shower.’ They literally like sent a SWAT team to his house because they couldn’t find him, and he was literally just in the shower.
Things got really messed up and invasive for Devin on her birthday, which happened to also land on her sister’s wedding. She had told her higher-ups months in advance that she wouldn’t make it in that day, but the way they responded when they couldn’t find her was ridiculous.
My final straw was on my birthday. So it was on a Sunday this past April. And I said months ahead of time that it was my sister’s wedding. I was like, ‘Sorry, I’ll be MIA that Sunday, I have my sister’s wedding,’ and they were like oh…So I’m, like, sitting and eating and I’m getting all these calls and texts, like my phone is vibrating nonstop. And I was like, okay, these people are not okay to care that much that you’re calling me nonstop at my sister’s wedding.
Devin concluded her story in a way we all kind of saw coming, her putting in her two-weeks notice. Her employers responded in the most nonchalant way as if they hadn’t just controlled her every move in the time that she’d been around.
And someone was like, ‘Yeah, other people on my other teams work even on their own wedding day.’ And I was like, okay, well then they’re truly not okay people. So then I quit and I put in my two-weeks notice and everyone was like, ‘OH, it was so great working with you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna need a decade to recover from this!’
Below is Devin’s viral TikTok that started all the fuss:
Devin shared some more information about her old job in a follow-up video
In her follow-up video that provided more context on the horrors of her job, Devin spoke about an ex-employee who had quit after being forced to work 28 hours straight. She mentioned that her co-workers at the time would talk about this co-worker with an ill attitude, as if working that long in a row was totally normal.
After being forced to have check-in meetings at 2AM, Devin’s employers began giving them work afterwards too. Some days the TikToker would be stuck doing assignments until after 3 AM, in the company’s attempt at intimidating the employees. This traumatized creator said that the firm would attempt to make the hours seem appealing, as some days she would be done by 3 PM, but it just didn’t make up for the 3 AM days.
Below is the TikToker’s full follow-up video:
It’s no question that first starting with a corporate job can get extremely stressful. Devin’s story is no exception. What are your thoughts on her crazy work conditions? Many viewers in the comments showed support for the TikToker and inquired on the reasons behind the events.
