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“I find myself going ‘How was the Poconos?’ I don’t even know what that is”: Black worker says he has to act ‘fake’ at corporate job

‘My co-workers would not recognize me outside of work.’

Photo of Lauren Castro

Lauren Castro

man speaking in car caption 'Black people be so fake at work and I love it' (l) man speaking in car caption 'Black people be so fake at work and I love it' (c) man speaking in car caption 'Black people be so fake at work and I love it' (r)

In a viral video, a worker who goes by @kajslare4 shared his appreciation for Black employees at work who throw on a fake facade—like he does.

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“Black people be so fake at work and I love it,” he said in the overlay text.

He explained that these employees are somewhere at a corporation, “walking fake, talking fake, wearing some stuff they ain’t used to wearing.” He said he loves it because, on some level, everyone is just trying to get work done, keep your benefits, and have your money right.

@kajslare4

Hi fake friend lets get this money

♬ Just a Cloud Away – Pharrell Williams
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“I find myself going ‘How was the Poconos?’ I don’t even know what that is,” he said with his fake work smile. “But I said it.”

He gave another example with the “Happy Friday!” phrase, claiming it’s “fake as hell.”

“But after work, I’m getting ratchet with my friends,” he added.

In the comments section, users agreed and discussed the act of putting on a different front at work.

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“And that’s on code switching,” one user pointed out. The phrase “code switching” is referring to “ways in which a member of an underrepresented group (consciously or unconsciously) adjusts their language, syntax, grammatical structure, behavior, and appearance to fit into the dominant culture,” according to BetterUp.

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“My co-workers would not recognize me outside of work. I don’t even wear the same wigs,” another user joked.

“And SCENE! once 5pm hits,” a third user commented.

Other users noted that this act gets exhausting, to which @kajslare4 suggested sleep.

The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via Instagram messaging.

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The Daily Dot