A TikToker is calling out people who shame others for working service jobs to provide for themselves, particularly if a person may have a corporate background.
TikTok user Sean Lans (@seanlans) shared in a recent video about how he’s been searching for restaurant jobs after getting laid off from his corporate job. He detailed how some people are surprised by his job search given his credentials. Lans said he used to work in equity trading and has worked for a tech company doing data analytics.
As of Wednesday evening, his video has received more than 75,000 views.
“Interviewing at restaurants is embarrassing for no reason,” he said in the video. “Anytime I tell someone that I was laid off from my corporate job, and I’m applying to work at restaurants while I wait to get another corporate job, they’re like ‘OK, good. Don’t be embarrassed about having to work at a restaurant.’”
Lans went on to mention how in one situation a restaurant employer noted the college he went to, inquiring why he wasn’t working a corporate job.
Lans explained it in simple terms, “It’s not that I want to. It’s that I have to.”
“Obviously, my current situation is not ideal,” he said. “It’s not where I saw myself. It’s what I wanted out of these years of my life, but I’m trying to make the best of it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Lans via email for further comment.
@seanlans Like maybe working at a restaurant isn’t ideal but it’s much less ideal to have no money so #corporatejob #layoff #interview #restaurant #embarrassing ♬ original sound – Sean Lans
According to CNBC, the number of layoffs in the tech industry this year has already started to outpace layoffs last year. In 2024 so far, about 42,300 tech employees have already been laid off. Some credit the use of artificial intelligence and “the stock market effect” as reasons for layoffs.
Although there are some social services available to those laid off, like unemployment insurance, benefits can vary from state to state. Also, the continuation of health insurance is a big factor people must contend with making the aftermath of layoffs even harder.
Commenters on Lans’ video seemed to relate to his experience.
“People shame me for bartending but I make my rent in 5 hours and work 3 days a week?” user Hannah Lace (@little.miss.lace) said.
“I’ve stopped telling people at my restaurant job I have a degree cos it’s embarrassing. If they ask, I just say I ‘took a few classes at community,’” user Charise Posie (@charis_posie) said.
