It’s always cringe-inducing whenever you see someone who should definitely know better than to not act their age. Like seeing a 40-year-old dude unironically call their Cracker Barrel meal “bussin’” or trying their darndest to fit into a pair of skinny jeans.
A TikToker named Janice (@janicedenali) shared an equally embarrassing anachronistic occurrence—when older co-workers act more like “children” than younger employees.
She posted about the relatable workplace gripe in a viral clip that’s garnered over 1.6 million views as of Sunday. Tons of viewers, unfortunately, know exactly what she’s talking about.
@janicedenali Help😭 #fyp #foryou #workdrama #kesha #working ♬ Kesha is a queen k bye – georgia!
Janice records herself looking into the camera as the song from Kesha, “C’mon,” plays in the background. She writes in a text overlay of the video, “When the older ladies make more drama at work than the teenagers” as she widens her eyes and lip-syncs the “feeling like I’m a high schooler” portion of the track.
While one may assume that older folks would be “more chill” at their jobs than their younger counterparts, several posts online seem to corroborate Janice’s assessment of this distinct workplace phenomenon.
In a Reddit post uploaded to @poisonivy1234321 in the site’s r/pharmacy sub, they asked, “Why is it always people of the older generation that start drama in the pharmacy??!!!”
Their post said that they noticed these differences in behavior when it came to not just patients or clients of the pharmacy, but co-workers at hospitals who were double their age.
“When I started to work at Walgreens at 22, patients in my age group and younger never acted like a Karen. Yet the sr tech, rphs, and older patients acted like Karens, racists, and sexists. Now that I am 25 and travel for work, I’ve experienced so much toxicity in HOSPITAL pharmacy from coworkers who are literally twice my age,” they wrote. “Like what really is the deal with that??? Like WHY?! I am really trying to understand.”
An advice the outlet Tiny Buddha suggests is to not respond to drama, then it will ultimately fizzle out and you’ll be rid of that problem to begin with. This can be difficult, especially if the person grinds your gears or seems to go out of their way to make their work problems your problems, or that they try to constantly involve you, or make you the subject of your gripes.
Other TikTokers posted videos similar to Janice’s, highlighting how strange it is for younger co-workers to find themselves beefing with a person significantly older than they are.
@cedric324 #greenscreen #teachertiktok #teachersbelike #ChewTheVibes #fyp #workdrama #workbeef #workbelike #officelife #watchyourmouth #teachersoftiktok #teachertiktok #schoolcounselor #messycoworkers ♬ original sound – Sipping 🍵
And judging from the comment replies from viewers who saw Janice’s TikTok, some seemed equally baffled by this on-the-job phenomenon. One person wrote, “How am i the youngest yet the most mature.”
Another penned, “No fr cause I worked at texas roadhouse and the bread ladies were having drama.”
Someone else said that their beef with an older co-worker has gotten so bad that they aren’t placed on the same shift as them anymore.
“I have beef with a 36 y/o who tells everyone not to listen to me,” they shared. “She fr isnt allowed to be scheduled with me over it.”
Why does this seem to be such a prevalent issue? TikToker @gracewaifers appears to have an answer—it’s because these folks allegedly have nothing better to do.
“Worked at a grocery store..yeah, can confirm,” they wrote. “They got nothing better to do than torment the teenagers.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Janice via TikTok comment.
