Modern-day employees, for the most part, are quite passionate about the topic of work-life balance. Judging by the current state of the labor market and general corporate culture in many companies, it’s only natural for discussion to thrive online.
A point of debate was recently sparked by a short from the Demoted Podcast, which discussed Generation Z as employees. Well, one listener-submitted story featured in the podcast led to a genuinely believable reaction from a TikToker which ultimately left most folks utterly confused. So, let’s dive deep.
Two hosts, Natalie Marie and Ross Pomerantz, of the Demoted podcast were discussing a sent-in email from a listener
Image credits: trekfit
Natalie: 'When asked to come in for an 8AM meeting, my Gen Z new hire said, "Ugh, sorry I can't make it, I have a workout class." Should this be allowed?'
Ross: My visceral reaction was, 'Are you f**king kidding me?'
Ross: My visceral reaction was, 'Are you f**king kidding me?'
Image credits: trekfit
Natalie: No. Fully, like, anger typing this out. I was like, please.
Ross: Like, my hands are shaking. It's not from the caffeine.
Ross: Like, my hands are shaking. It's not from the caffeine.
Image credits: trekfit
Natalie: You just started this job. I don't give a flying s**t about your workout class. Also, an 8AM workout class is too late. Work out at 6, maybe 7, right?
TikToker Alexandre decided to stitch his response, portraying the worker mentioned in the email
Image credits: trekfit
Alexandre: Natalie, so we can talk about this more later. But I'm going to address this now. It was made very clear during the interview process that the working hours for this position are between 9 to 5pm Eastern time and I am on Eastern time. I made that very clear with HR because I have commitments outside of work.
Image credits: trekfit
I go to the gym, I work out because I care about my health. Sure I can make a sacrifice to go to an 8am meeting had I known at least a week before that I needed to go at 8am, not a day before. Also, my workout class starts at 7:30 not at 8, but I didn't know that I needed to tell you that.
Image credits: trekfit
Okay, let's just say I skip the gym. Two things. When can I expect you to reimburse me for my class, and two, are you going to be paying me from 8am to 9am? Or at the very least let me leave at 4pm. Natalie, if your answer to both of those is no then there's no discussion needed. I will see you at 9 o'clock today.
Image credits: trekfit
Also, I sent an email to HR about this and sent them the link to that TikTok video just to make things clear.
Work-life balance has grown in popularity recently, mostly among Gen Y and Z and in response to toxic work cultures
For context, Demoted is a fresh podcast that unpacks all things workplace and corporate culture. In its most recent episode, The Generation Of Z, hosts Ross “Corp” Pomerantz and Natalie “Corporate Natalie” Marie discuss all things Gen Z in terms of work and culture.
At one point, Natalie read a listener-submitted rant that explained how they have a Gen Z new hire who was asked to come in for an 8AM meeting. The employee, however, responded with ‘Ugh, Sorry, Can’t make it. I have a workout class.”
Natalie continued this by asking if this should be allowed and both hosts responded with how such a reaction wouldn’t be acceptable given the context. More on that later.
It didn’t take long for the short to be stitched by TikToker Alexandre Evidente, a.k.a. @trekfit. In it, he confronted Natalie for not having communicated it in a timely manner, asking for formal compensation and just adding context to the situation.
Some commenters supported Natalie, but the majority were on Alexandre's side
Natalie came back with a response, shedding light on the issues
Image credits: demotedpodcast
Hi everyone, I'm the person in the video.
First things first, we made the decision to take down the video, so it's no longer there. We got a lot of heat, and rightfully so. It was getting vicious in the comments. We decided to take it down.
To be clear, we fully deserved this heat. I do feel, like with many things on the internet, a little context helps. And I think what we didn't do is provide that context. And that is on us. I went straight into reading a listener's story that was submitted. And it sounded like I was just talking about my own Gen Z employee that I was disgusted with for working out at 8 a.m. in the morning.
This has nothing to do with me, my company, or anyone who works for me. This is a listener-submitted story, from someone who works in consulting. This is the email with the additional context we were given.
Image credits: demotedpodcast
This is one meeting that happens quarterly that they can include all of their international team members on. It's just something that's part of the team ethos, and I guess it's communicated to all new hires before they sign, and it has to include those team members in Europe and India, and it's obviously hard to find a time that works for everyone.
Just to be clear, if you're not getting paid to work before 9 a.m., you do not have to work before 9 a.m. Do not condone that in the slightest. This is for a salaried employee, once a quarter.
Image credits: demotedpodcast
I do not know what their salary is but I looked up consulting salaries and it's somewhere within the range of 100 to 120 base. So it's not an hourly employee.
If you are hourly, or you work a job where the hours are strictly 9 to 5, please do not work outside those hours. You're not getting compensated for it, and that's not worth it.
Again, the way the social clip was cut and just the things we were saying and how we were reacting and getting so fired up about it - totally take ownership for that. We will take the heat, we will wear it. If you want to attack us in the comments, absolutely go for it.
I love you all. I support all of you and your work decisions. And if you want to do an 8 a.m. workout class, go for it.
Interestingly enough, virality can spin things out of control if enough assumptions are made
The story blew up wildly on TikTok, with Alexandre’s stitch garnering 31.6 million views as of this article (the video was posted 4 days ago).
Well, what if I told you that Natalie is not the employer and Alexandre is not the new hire? Turns out, it was an unlikely combination of particular video editing and a lack of context that made it all sound like real employer-employee drama.
The reality, however, is that the two sides are not and never were affiliated. This comes to light after Natalie comes back with a response to the stitch explaining that the way the short was edited eliminated enough context to folks to mistake it for a real conflict. She also provided a screencap of the listener submission and admitted that this lack of context is on them and they accept the blame.
Sure enough, some time later, Alexandre also comes out with a follow-up video explaining what is going on. Turns out, his initial stitch was a skit. It was meant to serve as a model and inspiration for those who are in similar situations where they are being pressured into compromising their work-life balance.
Even with the explanation, she was still getting heat from people
Alexandre came back to reveal it was all a skit
Image credits: trekfit
Okay, so, the past 24 hours have been crazy. And I just want to clear some things up.
That video that I made was my genuine reaction to the situation in the form of a skit. I should have made that clear and I'm sorry. But what I said is true, and it's what I would say if I were in that situation. Which I have been in the past and back then I did not stand up for myself.
Employers need to understand that we all have commitments outside of work, we have a life outside of work. When I'm at work, I'm going to do my job. Outside of work, I will focus on myself, my hobbies, my goals, and one of those is my health.
I made that video to empower people to speak up for themselves and set boundaries at work, especially if it's for your health. I know people who skip meals, lunches, and sit for eight hours straight, starving and overworked and basically sacrificing their own well-being for their job. And it should not be like that 90% of the time.
Employers should never feel entitled to their employees' time outside of regular working hours. And those that do, no one's ever going to want to work for you.
This situation only goes to show that folks shouldn't rush to take things at face value
You can now imagine the roller-coaster folks online went through: it kicked off as a discussion piece with people joining in on the debates and then this other guy jumps in and explains “his” side of the problem and so folks are now emotionally invested in him and then party #1 chimes back in with a “we don’t know him, this is what we’re about” and folks don’t believe them and then the guy’s back at it saying it was a skit and now people are confessing they would’ve gone to war with him.
In all seriousness, it truly was a chaotic situation. But one where both sides ultimately understood what happened and have taken steps to make sure it won’t in the future.
Natalie noted that if folks still want to hate on them, they are more than welcome to, she owns up to the clip editing that happened. Alexandre too apologized for not making it clear that it was a skit, and has promised to do better with future videos.
It just goes to show how much chaos going viral can spark.
So, what are your thoughts on any of this? Have you picked a side? Or do you want to bring the discussion back on track and elaborate on why work-life balance is key for today’s employees? Share your takes and stories in the comment section below!
People were confused: some because they didn't realize it was fake, others because they took it at face value
