Across the country, Americans are currently dealing with dramatic weather conditions. According to NPR, nearly 100 million Americans are set to face extreme cold this week, and NBC News notes that many cities have put out warnings for their residents about the dangers of the present weather.
However, that hasn’t stopped some businesses from demanding that their employees go to work. One video parodying this idea recently went viral and sparked discussion after being posted to TikTok by user Savannah (@savvdunn).
In a video with over 2.5 million views, Savannah writes, “our hike into work because We aren’t allowed to call in to save our lives,” as she and a friend traverse an icy landscape.
In the caption, Savannah adds, “They couldve survived with one server the whole night.”
Savannah isn’t the first to document the experience of being asked to work during extreme weather conditions. Last year, one TikTok user went viral after showing the reality of working for Amazon during a heavy rainstorm. Another worker claimed that their restaurant didn’t close during a tornado.
Several users offered similar stories in the comments section.
“I work retail and people still be shopping in a snow storm,” wrote a user. “Like…go HOME.”
“I used to work for the government and got written up for calling off in a snow storm,” added another.
“Working at kwik trip, the power went out, WE STILL HAD TO WORK,” offered a third.
“Our restaurant shares a parking lot with a semi sketchy hotel. Last time we had snow they wanted to put us up at the hotel,” recounted a further TikToker. “They only got a few rooms & expected us to just switch out at shift change.”
A few claimed that, even if they went to work during these conditions, they quickly found that they were not needed.
“Just to be cut after an hour….or they try and get you to deep clean the dining room for $2.50 an hour,” said a commenter.
“And then no one comes in and they just cut you,” stated a second. “So happy I don’t work at restaurants anymore.”
@savvdunn They couldve survived with one server the whole night #OHwell #5anhour #sever #restaurant ♬ original sound – Ray
As a result, some said that putting in the effort to go to work during these conditions is not worth it.
“Nah I don’t be risking my life like that,” declared a TikToker. “I will call in if I need to. Last year I ended in a ditch going into work in a really bad snow storm.”
“Restaurants that pay the minimum like $3/hr can never guilt me about calling off lmao,” wrote an additional user.
In a TikTok direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, Savannah said that she’s never been called off for work as a server due to weather. On the day shown in the video, she noted that business was particularly slow.
“It was so slow,” Savannah shared. “I made 35 dollars the whole night; the snow only got worse as we were there, so by the end of the night I had only had 2 tables.”
“Thankfully in my TikTok, the weather wasn’t too bad,” she continued. “I’d hope that once the weather is bad enough they’ll put their employees first and close down for one day. Especially when no one is going outside in a blizzard to come eat at a restaurant or get their car washed.”
“In my opinion, employees shouldn’t put their job before their life,” Savannah wrote. “It’s sad that people are scared to stay home where they feel most safe because they know they’ll lose their job over it.”
