A remote worker shared on TikTok that she has mixed feelings about being laid off, given how burnt out she felt at work.
In the video, Justine (@justinecvdm) is sitting at her desk wearing a blue hoodie and white over-the-ear headphones while mouthing along to a Taylor Swift song.
“When your employer knew you were burnt out so they decide to include you in the next round of layoffs,” the text overlay on the video reads.
“Solves part of the problem [I guess]?” she wrote in the caption.
@justinecvdm Solves part of the problem ig? #burnout #corporateburnout #techlayoffs #toxicworkplace #corporatemillenial #employeewellbeing #9to5life ♬ you dont know how nice that is Taylors Version – Vinoj
Justine, who has 18,000 followers on TikTok, consistently posts about her experience as a work-from-home employee. Her videos include topics around work-life balance, burnout, and toxic workplaces.
The Daily Dot previously covered a video in which Justine shows how arbitrary the 8-hour work day is, sharing that while she’s in front of her work computer most of the day, sometimes she can get all her tasks done in just 30 minutes.
Given Justine’s content and sense of humor, it is not 100% clear whether the worker was actually fired or if it was a skit. The Daily Dot reached out to Justine via email for confirmation.
Within the last year, several industries, including tech, finance, and media, have had several rounds of layoffs, including big-name companies like Meta, Spotify, and Twitter. Many layoffs started last year and have continued into 2023. NerdWallet reported that more workers were laid off in the tech industry in 2022 than in 2020 and 2021 combined.
Whether she was laid off or not, the video certainly struck a chord with commenters, many of who recounted their own experiences around being laid off, burnt out, or fired.
“Mine told me I needed to be there to support my team because they needed me when I asked for a mental health day,” one person wrote. “I put in my notice the next morning.”
“This was literally me. I was going to quit with no plan. Now I don’t have to work and get paid for couple months,” a second said.
“I legit told them to put me on that list burned out and maxed out,” another shared.
Others said they’ve been safe from the layoffs but are now overworked.
“My employer decided not to include me in the layoff and now I do the work of 15 people,” one viewer commented.
The Daily Dot contacted Justine for comment via email.
