We hear about toxic workplaces every day. But this story from digital creator Hillary Zinks has shown just how truly rotten they can be. It all started when Hillary was out working on a set when she got a call that her sister had been declared brain dead. "She was completely unresponsive and the nurses were looking for next of kin to make decisions on her behalf if need be. I was broken-hearted, frozen. I didn't even have time to register all of this before deciding to leave to be with her," Hillary told the press.
Hillary immediately informed the department head of the TV series about her situation, who was completely understanding. The other boss from her second job, however, seemed to be less than impressed when Hillary told her she was not able to show up to work due to this terrible medical emergency her sister was having.
So she shared a series of screenshots from the chat with her boss in a TikTok video, and they created a real stir on the platform. You can’t help but wonder how on earth this has become normal for employers to put money first and never stop thinking of themselves in situations where real lives are in danger. Scroll down through the whole story right below and be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section.
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Hillary works between two jobs, and the boss in the first job couldn't have been more supportive upon hearing the tragic news
However, the boss in Hillary's second job, where she worked as a server, had a very different reaction
Bored Panda reached out to Hillary Zinks, a makeup and effects artist whose story has recently gone viral. We spoke with her to find out more about this whole situation she shared on TikTok. When asked whether her boss’ reaction to Hillary not being able to come to work due to her sister dying in the hospital was surprising, she said it definitely was.
The author also shared a couple of screenshots from the chat with her boss
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
“I actually really liked that supervisor prior to all of this. She was the only one who had interest in my outside life and would ask questions about my other career and my studio and my likes and interests. I'm really sad how it all went down,” Hillary said and added that she didn't expect her to say that at all. “I thought she would be very empathetic and understanding.”
Understandably, Hillary was pretty shocked to see how upset her boss was because she was not able to show up for work
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinksz
As Hillary was still driving to the hospital, she said she was still fuming from their interaction. “I came up with the plan before I got to the hospital and then I was smiling because I know my sister would have gotten such a kick out of how I was going to quit!”
“She was crazy, possibly even crazier than me,” Hillary said about her sister who sadly passed away that weekend.
So when Hillary got to the hospital, she decided to do what would make her sister proud and this is the brilliant response she sent the boss as she quit
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Meanwhile, Hillary said her manager was way more empathetic. “He not only understood why I quit when I told him, but he even invited me to come back to work because that supervisor was forced to quit after all that,” she said.
Here is the full video of Hillary's story that she shared on TikTok
In a follow-up video, Hillary shared her boss' response
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
“I do think it's common and it's just sad,” Hillary said, referring to toxic supervisors like hers. “Jobs really think we are put on this earth to make them money and well, news flash, we aren't. I've had a similar experience to this when I myself needed to go to the emergency room during a shift,” she concluded.
The same day Hillary quit, she also gave a '0 weeks notice' to her higher manager and found out that that the boss who got upset over her not coming to work a busy shift no longer works for the restaurant
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Image credits: hillary.zinks
Hillary concluded by saying she decided to share this story so that her old boss and any other manager could take a step back and learn a lesson on how to treat their employees right
And this is how people reacted to the whole incident
Encouraged by Hillary sharing her story, more people stood up to share their own experiences
