Tim from Marketing must be really proud of himself today (spoiler: not an actual Tim).
A company has recently come under fire for… well… doing a lot of things that are just wrong. But the tl;dr version of it is that it decided to decorate its physical office using ghosts. Ghosts of actual people who used to work there. Before every single one of them were laid off.
If this does not scream tone-deaf, then I don’t know what does. So, let’s unwrap this whole deal really quickly.
More Info: Reddit
Halloween is supposed to be a fun occasion with a little bit of spook here and there, but this company went full-on dark with their decor
Image credits: @kellymurphs
So, a video has surfaced on the r/AntiWork subreddit with the caption “Ghosts of employees past”. Originally, it was posted on TikTok by user Kelly Murphy (@kellsmurphs), as seen in the watermark. However, only stitches of the video now exist as the original poster has since then removed the video from her TikTok channel.
Some speculate that the video was removed to avoid any trouble that might come the company’s way. But we all know how the internet works and what goes on there more or less stays up there forever. Even more so if it goes viral. Which it did. But more on that later.
The video features the original poster, Kelly, explaining that her company (company name was not disclosed) recently did some layoffs, and then showing how they decided to celebrate Halloween in light of them. She then proceeds to show a bunch of workspaces populated by “ghosts” sitting in front of computers.
A video has surfaced showing how a company decorated its office with ghosts... of employees who were laid off
Image credits: @kellymurphs
All would have been fine and dandy if not for the “name tags” plastered on each ghost, indicating names of former employees—the same ones who were laid off—and jokingly (surely in bad taste) pointing out that each one is a “ghost of employees past”.
Now, if you don’t see what the big deal here is, I’ll let career coach Eve of Admin & Eve (with whom Bored Panda got in touch) explain why this is wrong on multiple levels (as seen in her stitch): “This video perfectly sums up every single point I’ve ever made. First, it’s the layoffs where companies have absolutely no repercussions for ruining people’s lives—people who have built that company—and of course, it’s the joke. It’s the ghosts on the desks of the people who they laid off. You know, somebody who was laid off considered the person who thought of that joke to be a friend. This is why we don’t make friends at work.”
She continued: “Then it’s the joke itself. We are absolute punching bags and hysterical spectacles to companies. They don’t see us as people. They see us as a funny little ghost in a chair on Halloween. This video is exactly why the movement against corporate America and why quiet quitting should be prevalent right now.”
The actual names of people who were laid off were featured on the ghosts, which folks online found in poor taste, whether it was a joke or not
Image credits: @kellymurphs
When asked what this move says about the company's corporate culture, Eve elaborated that this is a blatant form of aggression against its employees. "It's clear that the culture is not people or happiness-centered. It says 'We don't see you as people—you are disposable... and once you're disposed of, you'll become our joke.'
"As it's clear that this idea likely went through multiple streams before being approved, this indicates that they likely have internal favoritism where managers are promoted due to their relationships rather than their credentials. (Any manager with prior training should have seen right through this!) As such, it shows that there has been little or no sensitivity or HR training to prevent these kinds of events. HR should have also seen a problem with this, which is incredibly alarming in its own right! HR's job is to protect employees from these sorts of aggression, but in this case, it may seem like HR believes their job is not in service of the people."
...or HR might have also been among the ghosts, which does not help the issue.
Image credits: @kellymurphs
As of this article, it is not known what company this is, and it seems unlikely that people will find out (at least easily, anyway) and hence unlikely that the company will face repercussions.
Eve also points out that the original video has been taken down (and some googling determined that the appropriate socials are also private), which could be due to potential retaliation or possible punishment by the company.
"If there's such an environment of fear, it's unlikely that people will feel empowered to step up. Hopefully, a previously laid off employee will see it and feel that they can tell us about their experience while working at a place like this, but I'm not fully hopeful that it'll happen. It's likely we may never know what company this is and it's incredibly likely that they will get away with it, as toxic companies do every single day. It's up to us to incite change and the original creator who posted this video did exactly that," said Eve.
The original video is currently removed, but it lives on in the r/AntiWork subreddit where folks had a lot to say
And once the original video hit the relevant spaces on the internet, folks were reacting in pretty much the same way. Many pointed out that once it becomes known what company this is, it will be an absolute PR nightmare, and were wondering how this even managed to go through everyone involved and nobody thought this was a bad idea.
Some have, however, speculated that this could have been a clever way of stirring up some trouble for the company as a piece of critique for the management responsible for layoffs—a way of protest of sorts. Whatever the case, most agreed that this was messed up whichever way you spin it.
So, if you want to avoid dead-end companies such as this, we've asked Eve to share some of her wisdom on red flags to look out for when applying for work.
"Always ask detailed interview questions! It's hard to know exactly what to ask to get to the bottom of... If a company will pull something like this... but here are some great starter prompts:
- Has this company ever laid employees off? If so, what did that process look like from an off-boarding perspective?—This shows whether they've had to deal with this kind of situation before, but also shows if they were thoughtful enough to have a plan in place.
- Tell me 3 things you love about the company culture.—If they wince or flinch or laugh uncomfortably, you know they aren't really a fan of the culture!
- What is the company's feedback culture? How is feedback given?—If they say something reminiscent of 'you need to have tough skin—we don't care about feelings here'—red flag.
- Tell me about a time when you've promoted someone—tell me what earns upward momentum here.—Many managers have never promoted because the company does not provide upward movement. Another red flag surrounding how employees are valued.
- How is compensation calculated for each role.—It's a curveball question and how a company responds is extremely telling. If they give a response other than an extremely detailed and thoughtful compensation process, it's a red flag!
- Tell me about a time HR had to solve a challenging problem. What was the outcome?—You asked the question, so they have to tell you something. The first thing people typically think of are extremely negative situations that happened. That's exactly what you want to know—how bad has it gotten here, and what are the standards at the company?"
The original video has been removed by OP, so no virality metrics available there, but it was picked up by numerous people in the form of stitches, and the repost on Reddit got nearly 8,000 upvotes and a couple of Reddit awards. This is besides some online news media outlets picking the story up. You can check out the repost on Reddit here.
And be sure to check out more from Eve on her TikTok channel, her website, or Instagram. At the moment, she offers virtual consultations and empowers people with knowledge on how to join and make it in the corporate world.
But before you go, share with us your thoughts on the issue! Or maybe share some of your “bad jokes” stories experienced in the workplace in the comment section below!