A contract worker went viral on TikTok after posting a video describing a common frustration at her job, shared by employees everywhere.
In the clip, TikTok user Lexie Firment (@lexiefirment) starts by saying, “Work culture is so funny. Like you will have a 50-year-old woman screaming at you because you left five minutes early.”
The video, posted on March 11 has Firment questioning the logic behind strict adherence to contract hours at her job, especially when all her work is done. She says, “Can we just have an adult-to-adult conversation of like, if all my work is done, and it’s three even 10 minutes, 15 minutes before I’m supposed to leave? Can’t I leave?”
Firment continues, “I wouldn’t be doing anything anyways, I might as well get a head start on my commute, that, Lord knows, I have to live like 30 minutes away from where I actually work because affordable housing doesn’t exist.”
Since its posting, the video has raked in over 286,200 views, with the sentiment echoed by other employees in the comments section.
@lexiefirment Workplace culture is crazy #workplaceculture #teacherlife #contracthours ♬ original sound – Lexie Firment
One user wrote, “Corporate life is so passive aggressive and I hate it.” Another shared a similar experience. They said, “I was the top performer on my team and I got yelled at for leaving at 4:55 so I could beat traffic and not have my commute go from 30 min to 2 hours.”
“FELT THIS. All I’m going to do is SIT HERE staring at a wall…… why does it matter???? Literal waste of life,” another remarked.
Some users pointed out the irony of companies carefully tracking early departures but not compensating for extra hours worked. “And if they’re gonna track that, can I please get paid for the hours I work OVER contract time??” one user commented.
However, not everyone shared the TikToker’s viewpoint, with one commenter suggesting that the issue was a lack of communication on Firment’s part. “Maybe give your manager a heads up that you’d like to leave early,” they wrote.
“Girl, you gotta actually say this to them. I sat them down one day and very firmly stated I will not be treated like a child and work has been cake ever since,” another claimed.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lexie Firment via email for comment.
