‘This just encourages workers to arrive earlier and stay late hours’: Worker shares ‘cool perks’ of working at her tech company, sparking debate
'A capitalist ploy.'
A worker took TikTokers on a tour around her office, showing off the perks offered to her and her co-workers at the tech company.
User Vivvie (@vivviey) posted her video earlier in the week. She claims that the office has free breakfast, a hygiene station, hair tools, unlimited snacks, as well as a candy and sandwich bar.
While some users were in favor of the benefit-stocked workplace, others speculated that the company’s motives may actually be to keep workers in the office, not just make their workdays better.
The video currently has over 4.3 million views.
On one side, some users supported this style of office.
“I just don’t understand why other companies don’t adopt these,” one user wrote. “It’s a win win for employer and employee.”
“Stuff like this makes employees want to work hard and show up,” another user added. “But instead so many comp want to make workplaces hell.”
“Taking notes for when I one day open my own business,” a third stated. “This is such a simple but necessary thing for companies to do for their employees.”
There may be some truth in these claims. In 2015, USA Today reported on a study that claimed that while “56%, of full-time employees are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ happy with their current job, that number jumps to 67% among those who have access to free food.”
Furthermore, Oxford University’s Saïd Business School claimed in 2019 that “happy workers are 13% more productive” than their unhappy counterparts.
However, according to some TikTokers, the employer’s plan is not really to make the employees happy—it’s to keep them in the office.
“This just encourages workers to arrive earlier and stay late hours, assimilating being at work with being at home,” claimed one user. “Aka…a capitalist ploy.”
“It’s a trick to keep you at work 24/7,” a second stated. Vivvie responded to this comment with, “lol well it works.”
“We love an employer that makes sure you never have to leave their office and have any personal time,” a further user concluded.
We’ve reached out to Vivvie via TikTok comment.
‘When the company you work for doesn’t micromanage you’: Remote worker says he does 8 hours of work in 30 minutes, sparking debate
'People saying you don’t have enough work have drunk the capitalist kool-aid.'
With skepticism about the efficacy of an eight-hour workday growing, and with more and more companies embracing a four-day workweek, there is an ongoing conversation in the United States about how the country’s work culture can be changed.
But while many businesses are pivoting to making their employees spend less time in the office, others are insistent on keeping their employees for the full 40 hours per week—even if getting their actual work done takes considerably less time.
A user on TikTok recently posted a video on this subject to viral success. In the video, user Rich (@rich_alfonso) claims that working for a company that “doesn’t micromanage” has allowed him to take longer lunches, be more relaxed, and importantly, “crush 8 hours of work in 30 minutes.”
Rich’s video currently has over 4.3 million views.
In the comments, users supported the idea of getting all of one’s work done quickly rather than feeling the need to arbitrarily spread it over eight hours.
“I wish more companies were like this,” one user wrote. “At my job I can do about 8 hours of work in 2, yet I have to work the whole day…”
“The world would be a much healthier place if jobs realized that it does not take 8hrs to complete your work,” a second user added. “Damn near takes an hour.”
“People really don’t understand that it’s not about time,” a third user claimed. “It’s about completing tasks that your company expects.”
Others stated that Rich’s journey represented the dream for many workers in the U.S.
“People saying you don’t have enough work have drunk the capitalist kool-aid and it makes me sad,” a user explained. “People, this is the life we can aim for.”
“Here’s the thing most companies miss. if they let us manage our time how we want, we won’t have qualms about working a little late to finish,” a further user noted.
Even more users shared personal stories about their time working in similar office environments.
“I just got a new job like this and it got me shook! So much freedom! Not being micromanaged is so liberating…” a commenter offered.
“It still [feels] amazing that I can get my daily work done in less than 4 hours without all the office distractions and BS,” an additional user contributed.
“Yes! Me at my job, no outside phone calls, no micro-managing and can get my 8 hours done in about 4 most days,” another TikToker concluded. “WFH life, i’m lovin’ it!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Rich via Instagram direct message.
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Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schön! magazine, and more.
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