Is a Walmart employee uploading “psy op” content to subtly influence people to try and work for the retailer? Some commenters who replied to a TikTok from a worker for the brand who said that they enjoy their job may seem to think so.
TikToker @sqmqnthqqnn posted a clip where she extolled Walmart for providing her with “good pay [and] benefits,” but there were plenty of other users on the platform who vehemently disagreed with her claim.
@sqmqnthqqnn and thats on loving my easy manager corporate job ☺️ dw i was on my paid 15 min break 🥲 #fyp #walmart #workatwalmart #trytolaugh #livelovewalmart ♬ original sound – 4STEP Live
The TikToker, who goes by S. on the platform, writes in a text overlay of their video which shows them posing in what appears to be a bathroom in front of the camera: “Yall be laughing at Walmart managers/employees but all I do is show up in my boyfriends shirts, work my lil 8 hour shift in AC & go home with my good pay/benefits”
Although S. professed her love for her job, there were a number of commenters who said that they didn’t share the same experience as she did when they were employed for the globally successful retailer. Like one viewer who penned that they quit their job due to being “severely overworked”: “I just quit my job at Walmart because I was severely overworked (10 departments) and management was awful never again”
Someone else remarked that they couldn’t believe S. was working 8-hour shifts at her Walmart, because they were used to being on the clock for 10-plus hours when they were an employee for the chain: “yall getting an 8hour shift? when I worked there it was 10”
There were other folks who strongly disagreed with S.’ claims, with one person bluntly stating: “Good pay and Walmart cannot be in the same sentence”
Another remarked: “Walmart is not really known for good pay and benefits,” and someone else wrote: “good pay? they pay garbage”
In the comments of the video, S. indicated that she worked in “neighborhood market in Florida”
The salary ranges for Walmart workers, according to Zippia, vary greatly in the state of Florida, with the average annual pay clocking in at $27,786 per year; employee pay is between $16,000 to $47,000 a year.
Indeed writes that Floridian workers earn anywhere from $10.79 for CAP team associates, and $33.41 per hour for Refrigeration Technicians. Glassdoor writes that Chief Executive Officers for the company earn as much as $197 per hour.
Author Rick Wartzman penned in his book Still Broke that Walmart and other US corporations are not paying their employees a fair wage and urged that in order for folks to make a living wage in the country’s current economy, they would need to be raking in at least $20/hr. Time magazine also referenced Wartzman’s work, and mentioned that “a portion” of the store’s employees need to rely on government assistance programs, like EBT, in order to afford food for themselves and their families, despite working full time hours.
The outlet goes on to say that the “number one reason people cited for leaving the company” was due to “poor compensation.”
There have been several employees who’ve gone viral on TikTok airing out their gripes with Walmart’s compensation, with another who was in disbelief when they came across a worker who was with the chain for 35 years.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart via email and S. via TikTok comment for further information.
