Pop Culture

‘You are now one of my elite employees’: The pro-workforce rallying cry that’s not just about getting in trouble with the boss

‘When my sister gets old enough to help me with chores.’

Photo of Charlotte Colombo

Charlotte Colombo

That One Sound: Elite Employee
That One Sound is a column from internet culture reporter Charlotte Colombo that explores the origin of popular sounds heard on TikTok.
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It’s never nice when someone you know gets fired.

But what makes it worse is when you’re expected to pick up their slack without extra compensation.

Bosses are out of touch at the best of times, and that’s what this painfully relatable TikTok sound is all about.

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The sound

The buzziest sound on TikTok right now features a woman saying: “We just fired the person who does that but now you have been promoted! You are now one of my elite employees.”

TikTok comedian MainlyMannie posted now-infamous video on Feb. 2, and since then it’s garnered an explosive 53.7 million views and been used as a sound in over 22,000 TikTok clips.

It’s been used as a reaction meme for relatable corporate scenarios like corporate giving you a measly raise, or when management give you a pizza party instead of actual benefits.

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It’s also been applied as a relatable reaction meme to more broader contexts in day to day life.

“When my sister gets old enough to help me with chores,” said @gotpilk3.

“When a school friend becomes an after-school friend,” said @cierradaniellee69.

“When I tell someone the dark parts of my childhood,” said @2targirlz.

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@brittjack99

He recently learned the names of my childhood besties :)

♬ original sound – THATMIKAMF
@mainlymannie A DAY WITH BOSS AND CEO! #BossandCEO #Mainlymabnie #fy #corporate #jobs #comedy #longervideos #jokes #hatemyboss #jobsbelike #BossLifestyle #Management ♬ original sound – mainlymannie

Where’s it from?

It’s from a sketch by comedian MainlyMannie, who was in character as “Boss & CEO.” Mannie has been dressing up as the character since 2021.

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The abrasive character is a parody of a busybody, Karen-like boss, and they’ve gone viral in the past.

Before this sound went viral, MainlyMannie was best known for orginating the meme: “Your bills has been affected young man.”

@coatsj Thanks? #DarthVader #appologyaccepted #captainneeda #StarWars #eliteemployees #promoted ♬ original sound – mainlymannie

Sound off

If nothing else, this sound demonstrates the ‘HRification’ of our day-to-day lives. Move over, therapy speak.

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Now you can watch our That One Sound from TikTok column on YouTube! Subscribe to our channel and keep an eye out for new episodes every Wednesday:

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The Daily Dot