TikToker Alper Avi (@alperavi) posted a viral TikTok joking about using his cell phone to appear like he’s “super committed” to work, sparking others to expose their own work-from-home hacks.
Avi uploaded the clip on Monday with the text overlay reading: “When you download chat/slack/teams on your personal mobile phone and your colleagues think that you are super committed to work, whereas in reality you did it so that you can remain online on your way to Starbucks.”
As of Wednesday, the TikTok has over 299,400 views.
“I think in the corporate world we all put on a very serious facade, whereas in reality we are a lot more goofy and laid back,” Avi tells the Daily Dot via Instagram direct message. “I believe trying to be super responsive in work chats to show our commitment was a great example of this! Even if we lose focus or need a break during the day, we all want to make sure that no one notices. And that is the machiavellian reality of corporate life!”
In the comments, other TikTokers shared their own experience pretending to be more productive at work. “Messaging the team chat ‘good morning!’ from the slack mobile app at 9:10 am in bed.”
“Hahahahahahaha. Me doing cross-country-skiing at 10 a.m with my Teams opened,” another TikToker shared.
“Me at the nail salon answering teams messages on a random Tuesday,” wrote another.
“Me opening slack to make my status active then going back to bed,” commented one TikToker.
“Lmaooooo that and scheduling emails early morning and late at night,” wrote another TikToker.
Despite these nail salon breaks and Starbucks runs, for the most part, workers report being more productive working from home rather than commuting to an office, according to a 2021 survey.
Avi enjoyed reading all the comments. “I knew that most people take their time when they work from home, so people’s reactions were not surprising. It was simply affirmative and enjoyable to read.”
