Content creator Ben Askins often posts workplace disagreements to give a voice to average employees who would otherwise go unheard.
However, one particular story that Askins recently told his 533K TikTok followers is so infuriating that it stands out even among his repertoire.
The anecdote comes in the form of a text conversation initiated by an entitled manager who summoned their subordinate in the middle of their holiday trip, demanding they immediately come back to work because of staff shortage.
Bad bosses expect their subordinates to serve their every whim
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
And content creator Ben Askins may have found one of the worst ones
Image credits: ben.askin
So he shared a conversation they had with their employee
Image credits: ben.askin
Image credits: ben.askin
"I’d love to know what he thinks this system is that just magically produces employees whenever he wants, but like, he's obviously made a mistake. He's got the rota wrong. That sounds like a problem for sure. But it's certainly not the poor employee in Mexico's problem.
He's got annual leave signed off. It's a right, not a privilege. You can't f*ck around with it. I'm gonna get that on a t-shirt at some point. But basically, what he's done is he's messed up. Get a contractor in, get a freelancer, move things around. That's your problem to deal with.
What's not okay is you start meshing your employee on his annual leave in Mexico, being like "you gotta be in on Thursday". What do you think he's going to come back with? And to pep, the employee says this, "You could do what you want. Even if I wanted to come back in time, which I can't, I wouldn't. And if you push this, I will be reporting it." Good for you mate.
I mean, that's just batsh*t. I mean, what is he doing? I just don't understand what he thinks is going to happen. Of course he's not canceling his holiday. Of course he's not allowed to do what he's doing. Just get a freelancer in. If you've messed up the rota, and you've gotta cost yourself, it eats into your margins - that's your problem, that's not his. It's so dumb."
Image credits: ben.askin
The post featuring the chat immediately went viral
"Stuff happens in all our lives, and companies have a choice to either make it worse or to actually step up and support their team," Ben said. "Sadly, a lot seem to pick option number one, and people tend to remember that"
Image credits: Marc Mueller (not the actual photo)
As you may have noticed from the opening frames of the video, this was Ben's 111th video in the series 'The WORST Bosses.'
We got in touch with the content creator, and he said that some of the most common topics in these clips, besides annual leave, include credit stealing and pay discrepancy. "However, if I had to pick one, I would say it's this tendency for companies or bosses to just ignore or completely disregard the fact that people have lives outside of their work and that sometimes things happen where they need a bit of support," Ben Askins told Bored Panda.
"This can range from petty things like working from home and chasing for work late at night, or it can be the big stuff such as how managers act when family members die or when people suffer an injury or illness."
Now that Ben has grown his TikTok following to more than half a million, many people are familiar with his work and know that he can properly represent them should they choose to submit their own experiences.
"I actually get sent dozens of these types of stories every day through email and direct messages. Some of them really are absolutely wild. When I find one I think resonates, I will usually go back to the person who sent it to ask for screenshots, any other material, and just more information in general. I am very strict about keeping things anonymous, though, as a lot of these people are still working for the company in question," Askins explained.
"The advice I always give when someone more senior to you messages you on annual leave is to just ignore it and not engage at all, and then if they bring up the fact that you didn't respond, just plead ignorance," Ben said, adding that asking them to buy you a work phone is also a good way of dealing with this kind of situation. "That usually shuts them up."
But for something as extreme as this, he believes employees need to go further. "My advice would be to bring it up with HR and, if I am being honest, to just leave their team as soon as you are able to because if they do things like this, they will be awful in other areas as well."
In the long run, all actions contribute to the overall culture and reputation of a company. "This type of management is just so short-sighted. Even if you want to ignore your moral responsibility of making sure people are as happy as possible at work and just want to prioritize profit, then this is still the wrong way to go about things," Askins highlighted.
"Hiring replacement staff for people who are leaving is so expensive, and if you keep doing things like this, your staff turnover is going to be incredibly high. Even if they don't leave, they will be so hacked off or frustrated that their output will be virtually nonexistent."
"It is hardly a groundbreaking observation to make, but it turns out that people will do better work when they are actually motivated and enjoying their job," he added. "There is literally no benefit to doing things like this, and yet too often it seems to happen!"
Which shouldn't come as a surprise
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk (not the actual photo)
This story is a vivid example of the fact that even though 85% of bosses recognize there's an employee burnout crisis, many of them still aren't taking the required steps to mitigate it.
In fact, according to a new survey conducted by CalendarLabs, almost 80% of workers feel guilty about taking PTO. This also explains why 66% do more work to prepare for their time off and 69% (including the one who the TikTok was about) respond to work messages on vacation.
The survey discovered many workers feel guilty because they feel a lack of job security, fear a heavier workload upon return, or think their colleagues will have to shoulder additional burdens.
"This guilt can negatively impact their well-being and work performance," Hannah Workman, part of the creative team for CalendarLabs, told Fortune. "To address this, employers should foster a workplace culture that encourages taking time off without guilt. Promoting breaks, recognizing the importance of mental health, and managing workloads effectively can boost employee satisfaction and productivity."
The study found that 56% of employers say they are trying to tackle the stigma of taking days off work for mental health, and their most preferred actions include:
- Encouraging regular check-ins with supervisors;
- Offering training sessions for leaders;
- Creating open dialogue, forums, and meetings;
- Providing resources like mental health days and counseling;
- Fostering a mentally healthy workforce.
However, clearly not everyone is concerned with this.
People have been having very strong reactions to it
Some even shared their own similar stories
