Woman Gets Fired, CEO Contacts Her And Asks Her To Do Some More Work For A Pay Where She Would Be Losing Money
Recently, the TikTok creator Kiki (@kikirough) shared an incident with her CEO, joining many people online who are calling out employee mistreatment and disrespect across various work industries.
Captioned “Treat your employees like human beings”, Kiki’s video amassed 603.4k views and counting. “In short, I was one of tens of thousands of people laid off a month ago,” the woman explained in the video.
“My CEO reached out to me and he says, ‘Hey, I need something done that no one knows how to do.’” Now, Kiki responds to him by saying that “she’ll lose her unemployment if she helps him” and asks for something she deserves–a week’s pay. Turns out, the CEO is convinced that Kiki is simply not worth it.
Kiki, who was fired from her job, received a request from her CEO to do the work only she knows how to do, but was told she’s not worth the week’s pay
Image credits: kikirough
“I had to calm down before making this video because of the audacity. In short, I was one of the 10s of 1000s of people laid off a month ago. And my CEO reaches out to me and he says, ‘Hey, I need something done that no one knows how to do.'”
Image credits: kikirough
“And I was like, ‘Sure, these are all the things that need to be done, but I’ll lose my unemployment if I do this for you. Can you at least give me a week’s pay?'”
Image credits: kikirough
“So he essentially says, ‘you’re not worth a week’s pay. You can do it for me hourly.’ He doesn’t care if I lose my unemployment. So I said, ‘Send me a check for a week’s pay or it’s not getting done.'”
Image credits: kikirough
“The only reason I don’t feel bad about professionally sharing this is because this is exploitation. If he can’t afford to give me severance or notice, then I can’t afford to do things at the expense of myself anymore. The fact that we’re still not treating employees as people with lives makes me very upset. Back to work.”
Image credits: kikirough
And this is the full video Kiki shared on her TikTok channel that sparked a discussion
@kikirough ✨ treat your employees like human beings ✨ #greenscreen #work #job #QuakerPregrain #greenscreenvideo #fyp ♬ Flowers – Miley Cyrus
The pandemic set off nearly unprecedented churn in the U.S. labor market. Widespread job losses in the early months of the pandemic gave way to tight labor markets in 2021, driven in part by what’s come to be known as the Great Resignation. The nation’s “quit rate” reached a 20-year high last November, Pew Research center reports.
Today, two years later, we find people at a crossroads. Some of those who quit are not willing to return to work, citing low pay, no opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected. No wonder more and more people are standing up to speak against the employee mistreatment by sharing their experiences online.
Kiki is one of them. She commented to the press that her job wanted to pay her 2-3 days’ worth of what she used to make for a task that takes her longer than that. “I’ve never been a consultant, so I didn’t realize that I could bump up the rates, but… I asked for a week’s pay and was asked to reconsider — as if my value was no longer equivalent to what I was making a month ago.”
In numerous instances, we see how the modern economy has allowed CEOs to reap the rewards of their success while leaving their employees behind. With a focus on profits and shareholders, many CEOs have prioritized their own enrichment over the welfare of their employees.
This attitude has had devastating consequences for employees across the country, with wages stagnating, benefits being cut, and job security continually eroded. The problem is further compounded by the fact that many CEOs are insulated from the realities of their workforce. It is not difficult to understand why CEOs might not value their employees when they are not directly affected by decisions that can have drastic implications for those same employees.
People couldn’t believe the CEO’s audacity and they shared their thoughts in the comments
356Kviews
Share on Facebook
Contractor rates are at least two to three times regular pay so offering to do it for regular pay is low balling. She should have told him this “I’d be delighted to do the reports for you. My rate as a contractor is $500 per hour and I estimate that the work will take 40 hours. 50% is due upfront so as soon as I receive the check, I can begin work and 50% is due after 15 days (no additional work will be performed until all outstanding invoices are paid) Looking forward to working with you again!” That’s worth losing unemployment.
Agreed - at least 5x reg hourly rate, with a four hour minimum per day, eight hour max, so if it takes nine hours, they're paying for 12. Given unemployment is usually capped at x% of what you made before, that might be worth it... although I'd be more inclined to contract a per project rate, if it's something I'd done before and had a fix on exactly how long it would take. Definitely with a sizeable advance and a written contract that would stand up in court if they try to back out. They've already proven they don't have her interests at heart, best to assume that's still the case.
Load More Replies...
Contractor rates are at least two to three times regular pay so offering to do it for regular pay is low balling. She should have told him this “I’d be delighted to do the reports for you. My rate as a contractor is $500 per hour and I estimate that the work will take 40 hours. 50% is due upfront so as soon as I receive the check, I can begin work and 50% is due after 15 days (no additional work will be performed until all outstanding invoices are paid) Looking forward to working with you again!” That’s worth losing unemployment.
Agreed - at least 5x reg hourly rate, with a four hour minimum per day, eight hour max, so if it takes nine hours, they're paying for 12. Given unemployment is usually capped at x% of what you made before, that might be worth it... although I'd be more inclined to contract a per project rate, if it's something I'd done before and had a fix on exactly how long it would take. Definitely with a sizeable advance and a written contract that would stand up in court if they try to back out. They've already proven they don't have her interests at heart, best to assume that's still the case.
Load More Replies... 
61
13