Man shares former employer’s reaction to colleague’s death — ‘Dystopia’

A former education coordinator speaks newsweek About his “frustration” with how his bosses at the time reacted when one of his colleagues died.

Austin, from Colorado, who did not want to reveal his identity, watched through a screen as his former employer announced the death of a colleague. meeting agenda.

A former education coordinator, he is known online as @captainhowdylife. tick tock On May 5, he shared a moment he described as “dystopian.”

“I had been working in this position for about four weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic when my colleague Gary became ill and required supplemental oxygen while at work,” Austin said. said. newsweek.

Gary, whom Austin never had the chance to get to know well, later passed away.

“The video I shared showcases the agenda for an office staff meeting on April 27, 2021,” Austin said. “The screenshot highlights the first meeting note on the agenda. The title is the name of a colleague, which I have blurred for privacy reasons, followed by the first bullet point, which simply reads, ‘Passed away this weekend.'”

Austin felt so disbelief and annoyed that he shared the screenshot on social media. Text overlaid on the video read, “Reminding me of the time a coworker literally died and it was put on the meeting agenda.”

postSet to the Bronski Beat’s 1984 hit “Smalltown Boy,” the song includes the lines, “Is this a dystopia? To figure out how we’re going to meet this quarter’s sales quota… The caption read, “Shut up and think.”

“I created this video to express my surprise that they would reveal this tragic news and reduce its importance to just a bullet point on their weekly meeting agenda,” Austin said. .

“My first reaction to the death of a colleague I had just started working with was a natural sense of disbelief, but that disbelief was quickly followed by a lack of empathy for this loss, and Gary It turned into frustration that it wasn’t normal to see them as human beings, but their responsibilities as workers had to be reassigned immediately. Workplace Efficiency. ”

Viewers noticed that the bullet points were preceded by text that read, “Forward all facility issues.”

austin said newsweek Little effort was made to address the emotions felt by the staff at the time of their deceased colleague’s death.

“My boss expressed some remorse, but we ended up moving on to other business matters. It felt like the end of his life was just a bullet point.” Austin said.

“We hope this video encourages the public to value their lives outside of work and strive to bring more human connections to the workplace,” he added.

Google News internet reaction

Austin’s video struck a chord with viewers, garnering more than 1.5 million views since it was shared to the platform in early May. Several viewers echoed Austin’s disdain in the post’s comments section, voicing their agreement. The company’s response to Gary’s death.

Many commenters expressed their opinions with funny jokes, and others expressed similar opinions. experience at work.

“Hi Gary (rest in peace) did you leave a note about the sales? Great,” one user, @emaawaa, wrote.

Another @user928374729020 commented, “The death announcement as breaking news is wild.”

“If this isn’t life-changing as a person, I don’t know what will,” said a third TikTok user who goes by the name Solana.

“One time a colleague died at my desk and the company didn’t do anything about it,” added another viewer @phoebegorl.

Austin’s post came after insurance company MetLife released the results of its 2023 survey on workplace satisfaction, which concluded that 42% of 2,884 employees evaluated felt unvalued by their managers.

“I hope this video inspires others to value who they interact with at work and stop dehumanizing ordinary employees,” Austin said, adding, “I hope this video inspires others to value who they interact with in the workplace and stop dehumanizing ordinary employees.” When life events occur, I don’t reduce them to just bullet points.”

Updated on May 22, 2024 at 03:21 ET to correct Austin’s current location.

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