Having a job can be important and useful to a person, not only financially but also for their mental health. At the same time, it can be damaging to it just as much or even more so. For example, if the position is very mentally draining and not emotionally fulfilling, if the pay isn't enough, or because the coworkers are simply unpleasant people. Just like in this financial responsibility content creator's case. Her coworkers and even her team leads bullied her because she makes videos for TikTok. After the woman couldn't take the effects this bullying had on her mental well-being, she quit the job and claimed she felt relieved.
More info: TikTok
Recently, a content creator quit her job at Walmart, claiming her coworkers and team leads made fun of her because of her side hustle, and she posted about it on her account
Image credits: asap.kristy
"I just walked out of my job at Walmart, and I've never felt so fricking freed in my whole life"
"I didn't have the guts to do it. I wanted to work two jobs [and] be able to save money. I didn't think I [was] gonna find another job that'd be able to work with this type of schedule. It comes down to my mental health. I have to prioritize that.
"I have kept quiet for a very long time because I worked in the company, and there are certain things I could and couldn't say if I didn't want to risk termination. But now that I, you know, have quit the job, I can speak freely and speak my mind. There's going to be a lot of Chismosas that are going to talk about me after this video. I'm sure of it. That's another reason why I quit. I know I publicly post my life out there on social media."
"But there's a lot of associates at my workplace that used to talk about me all the time, make fun of my videos, or send them to their group chats"
"People that are team leads, you know who you are, send around my videos because you guys have nothing better to do. Just making fun of my video because I post content on social media. Made fun of for it, just because they're jealous and, you know, spiteful of me for no reason. Right?
"Second point. Because there's a lot of favoritism that goes on in the front end that a lot of you guys know a lot that I would do and have to do the shitty jobs because their homies don't have to do it since they're friends with the manager. I'm a very hard worker. I always show up on time. I'm never late. And I don't call out rarely. I literally will come in sick. And that's the type of worker I am. I'm just a very hard worker.
"I also get put into the office, but, you know, the team leads aren't able to coach me because there's nothing they literally coach me on. But they will bring me to the office and tell me, 'Oh, you have to do this task because it's part of your job duty as being part of the front end.' But they don't tell that to any other associate, and they only make me do that job. How about you preach that to all the other associates that you don't make do that one particular job, even though it's their job duty too because they're a front-end associate.
"But no. They only pull me into the office and tell me that it's my job duty, and if I want [to] do otherwise, I need to get an accommodation letter and all that type of stuff. Which is so ironic because the people that pull me into the office are the same people that had a group chat about me to make fun of me and my TikToks. Crazy! The ones that have power also [are] the ones that are abusing it because they know they can."
Image credits: asap.kristy
"There were so many days I cried cause it was just so much, and I was putting up with the worst things"
"That being said, I'm just very thankful that I left that toxic job, and I have nothing against my coach. Actually, I have a lot of respect for my coach, but not for those team leads. And that's all I have to say."
Watch the video here
Image credits: Marques Thomas (not the actual photo)
The TikToker who posted this video was @asap.kristy, or just simply Kristy. On her account, she created videos relating to financial responsibility, usually giving tips about credit cards, investing, budgeting, and personal finance. Currently, she’s on a steady road to 183K followers.
Bored Panda reached out to Kristy, and she agreed to share some additional context about the situation from the video, which focused on people at her ex-workplace, Walmart, who were real jerks. They used to make fun of Kristy for making TikToks, look down on her because of it, and delegate her meaningless tasks. Very unpleasant stuff, right?
Well, apparently, this kind of workplace harassment was going on for over a year, but Kristy chose to stay there: “I needed the money if I wanted to be able to be on goal to purchase my home by 25. Also, I thought Walmart was the only place that was willing to work with my schedule and give me consistent hours.”
Sadly, Kristy isn’t the first and last person to endure workplace bullying. In a workplace, this can manifest in various ways, some of them so subtle that the bullied person might not even understand it. Some examples of bullying:
- An employee being over overworked;
- Rumors being spread about the employee;
- An employee being treated unfairly;
- An employee being teased maliciously.
Of course, this is not an extensive list -- the examples could go on and on. Unfortunately, all these expressions of bullying take a toll on an employee’s mental health, just as Kristy highlighted in her video.
A bullied person might not only feel the effects of bullying on their performance at their job but in other areas of their life as well. It can make them feel anxious to return to work and depressed. They can also lose motivation, appetite, and sleep, feel psychosomatic pains, like headaches and stomach aches, or even have panic attacks.
Image credits: iMin Technology (not the actual photo)
So, you might wonder, how should an employee deal with such a situation if they can’t quit their job or simply don’t want to lose their position? National Health Service suggests several steps that can be taken:
- Talking to a bully;
- Keeping a record of bullying events;
- Making a formal complaint;
- Getting legal advice or even taking legal action.
Of course, sometimes such steps aren’t applicable due to various reasons. As an example, we can see Kristy's case -- her bully wasn’t a single individual but several, which complicates the situation and makes some of these tips way less effective.
Kristy herself said that she wishes she would have left sooner. After all, the place was full of red flags. For instance, when she talked about her problems with the management, they brushed it under the rug. “I wish I had stood up for myself when I was getting harassed, but I was afraid that they would try to find reasons to fire me or give me the more difficult tasks.”
The woman also added that the best advice she could give those who find themselves in similar situations is to leave: “It’s not worth your mental health and happiness. It took me a long time to realize that money comes and goes, but your mental health and happiness are more important.”
People online seemed to agree with this sentiment. They praised Kristy for not letting the toxic work environment ruin her and for quitting before her mental health was damaged more. No petty drama is worth mental distress of any kind.
Also, since she left this toxic job, fortunately, she was able to find a new job the next day. And what’s even more fortunate is that she doesn’t have to deal with harassment in it, as her position doesn’t involve any group settings.
And we can take this fact as proof that sometimes quitting is the best choice you can make because better things are potentially waiting ahead.
People online praised the woman for taking such an important step for the sake of her mental well-being and celebrated the relief they heard in her voice
