One Dairy Queen employee is learning just how fast a simple online video can put one’s job in jeopardy.
In a recent TikTok video, user Aza Nae (@azanae7) posted about how she closed her restaurant’s location more than an hour before its scheduled closing time.
“We close @ 11 and I closed @9:47pm,” Aza Nae captioned the video, along with using this TikTok audio. “& I DON’T GIVE A DAMN.”
@azanae7 Hope my manager dont see this she dont play bout that🫣😭 #dairyqueen #shiftleader #fypシ @Dairy Queen ♬ original sound – Sexyy Red
In the video—which has been viewed more than a million times—she’s shown in her uniform filming in front of what appears to be an empty restaurant. She also wrote, “Hope my manager don’t see this she don’t play [about] that.”
However, in a follow-up video, Aza Nae revealed her manager did in fact learn about the video and joked that she was fired.
“They indeed reported me to head people but my manager understood BUT she had to get her lick back by pranking me,” Aza Nae wrote.
In the video, the TikToker can be seen tearing up, to which a person who seems to be her manager asks, “why are you crying?”
“Y’all told me I was fired for my video,” Aza Nae says.
To which the person laughs and then responds, “Yeah, stop fucking playing with my job.”
@azanae7 They indeed reported me to head people but my manager understood BUT she had to get her lick back by pranking me 😭🤣🤣
♬ original sound – Aza Nae
Posting to TikTok while on the job has been an emerging phenomenon, with some employees teetering the line between what’s permitted and what’s not when it comes to their employer’s social media policies. One of the most notable examples is when a group of labor and delivery nurses at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta were reprimanded after sharing their “icks” about patients on TikTok.
Bennitta Joseph, a partner at Joseph & Norinsberg LLC in New York, told USA Today that employers likely want to ensure that employees aren’t partaking in unlawful behavior online.
“A company has a huge interest to make sure you are not engaging in discriminatory statements, disclosing trade secrets, threats of violence, and unlawful conduct,” Joseph said. “If they do find out that you are doing any of these, it could be grounds for termination.”
Commenters on Aza Nae’s original video seemed to sympathize with her desire to close early.
“If y’all worked here with us then y’all definitely would wanna close everyday early or quit,” one commenter said.
“As an ex [Dairy Queen] employee, that job was so exhausting,” another user wrote. “I wish we could’ve done that. Our store made us work with no AC in [August/September], not allowed to close.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Aza Nae via TikTok comment. Dairy Queen has not responded to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
