The corporate aesthetic has swarmed TikTok recently, with people throwing around terms like “corporate baddie” or “corporate girly” to give viewers a glimpse into their work life.
But some are calling out the trend for having a lack of nuance when it comes to the corporate aesthetic, particularly for people who don’t have the luxury of working from home.
“If you’re a corporate girly but you work from home and you want to show me your 5-9 before your 9-5 or fucking whatever happens after that, shut the fuck up,” TikToker @dirtboybeekee says in a recent video. “Immediately, shut the fuck up.”
@reb_ortiz This is a message to the tik tok algorithim no hate to WFH girlies keep loving your life
♬ original sound - Rebecca
In their video, @dirtboybeekee describes wanting to see more variety in TikTok videos of corporate employees. She says she prefers to see workers that have to deal with certain burdens such as long commutes or are required to dress a certain way.
With the pandemic, the trend of working from home has skyrocketed. Between April 2020 and December 2020, it’s estimated that remote work accounted for 50% of paid work hours in the U.S. Remote work also presented a break from office politics for many people who find the social hierarchy in offices draining.
With the introduction of vaccines and greater knowledge about the coronavirus though, many places have begun requesting workers come back into the office.
“Don’t show me a routine that doesn’t require a 45-minute commute,” @dirtboybeekee said. “I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to hear it and I can’t have it. Where are the girls that have to put on suits every day? What does their life look like? Show me a day in their life.”
Some were quick to laugh off the Tiktoker's request.
“I paid my dues,” one commenter said. “Now I’m rocking my PJs all day with my 15 second commute to my office.”
“Did it for 20 years...living in leggings at home now,” another person said.
@dirtboybeekee helped to squelch some of the pushback with a comment to her video. “All love to the girls working from home!! I’m truly happy for y’all I just wanted [TikTok] to show me more people trying to balance the in-person life!” she wrote.
Other commenters recounted their reasons for being unable to document their “get ready with me” routines.
“After that 45 min commute, we get home and contemplate our entire life then scroll through [TikTok] the rest of the night,” someone commented.
Update 11:30am CT, Sept. 13: Twenty-five-year-old Rebecca (@dirtboybeekee) told the Daily Dot she wanted to make a humorous video that speaks to how many remote workers feel.
"I feel like sometimes my FYP is so personalized to me and yet I kept seeing these girls who would show their morning routine but I was so frustrated because it wasn’t realistic for me or a lot of other people who have to factor in a commute and get ready time," she said. "Honestly i made it just to be funny, obviously I love aesthetic GRWM just as much as the next gal but clearly I struck a nerve with other girls wanting to see more realistic days in the lives of people who work in the office."
Rebecca said she just started a job she loves. She said it's her first job after grad school and she's still "trying to figure out how to balance my time working in the office with exercising, cooking, having a social life."
"It’s not as easy as some people make it look and if it IS easy for them then I’m so happy for them!" she said.
She said she thinks "there is a misconception that everyone who works in the office would rather be WFH." "I’m so relational and really enjoy the interaction of an office, it can just be overwhelming especially when you consider the traffic," she added.
