Lindsey Weedston
A corporate worker with a TikTok account is giving younger generations free advice in her videos, some of which goes up against messages often sent to employees by their bosses and the general corporate culture of “work til you drop.” While this TikTok user has made many videos offering advice and poking fun at the pitfalls of working in an office environment, one in particular gained over 2.4 million views after she posted a list of tips for surviving this kind of work.
“Use ALL of your PTO, every year,” the overlay text reads. “No one cares that you worked instead of taking time off. You’re just making your own life harder.”
Workers in U.S. offices and other occupations are often sent the message that taking time off is “selfish” because it puts more work on coworkers or hurts the company. In reality, it’s management’s responsibility to staff their workplaces appropriately so that people taking time off isn’t an undue burden on others or a risk to the business. Instead, they very often opt for “lean staffing” and then blame the workers who didn’t make that decision when it leads to unnecessary stress for everyone.
This TikToker generally seems to reject the idea that working yourself to death is a good idea, repeatedly asserting that it won’t actually lead to things like raises and promotions like managers and CEOs like to claim.
“Being the hardest working person, doesn’t get you as far as you think it would,” she says. “Saying ‘No’ is sometimes necessary.”
She offers additional advice in follow-up videos, including urging workers to reject the myth that workers need to be loyal to their company and instead “be open to better opportunities.” After all, most of the time, bosses view workers as entirely replaceable, having no loyalty to them.
She advises people to be sure they’re getting a yearly raise. If you’re not, realize that the company you’re working for doesn’t value you and start looking for a new job. She also recommends not bothering to wait for your yearly evaluation or similar thing — any time is a good time to ask for what you need.
When it comes to job hunting, she says sending the same resume to multiple companies is “a big mistake” and acknowledges that the biggest boost in your chances of landing a position will come from knowing someone on the inside.
“The odds of you getting a job somewhere are MUCH higher if you already know someone working there,” she says. “‘It’s all the who you know’ is real af.”
Many other TikTok users agreed with her advice and offered some of their own, further stressing to people that they shouldn’t make work their whole lives, and should put their health and happiness first, before anyone else’s business.
“They don’t put your job title on your tombstone,” said a commenter. “Stop stressing out. You are here for a short time. Enjoy yourself.”
“We have to break out of this cycle of letting capitalism overwork us,” wrote another. “We have needs and we all deserve a well-rounded life.”
