Manager sparks criticism after filming herself comforting crying employee
‘This feels inappropriate in the workplace,’ one viewer writes
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Your support makes all the difference.A viral TikTok seemingly showing a restaurant manager hugging their crying employee has sparked a debate about workplace boundaries.
In the video, which appeared to be filmed on the manager’s phone, the woman could be seen comforting an employee in a backroom of the restaurant.
“I am the manager but I am also…their safe place. Mentor. Therapist. The person who buys them Christmas presents and birthday cakes,” the caption on the video reads. The clip was initially posted by the user @oakwoodcrew, who has since made their account private.
The clip has been re-shared by other users on TikTok, who have expressed their discomfort over the video.
In one TikTok duet made by a woman who goes by the username @coolandhotgirl_123, she watched the video with a blank facial expression as she criticised the manager for recording the moment in an accompanying text caption.
“Imagine crying to your manager and they say: ‘WAIT! Let me record this,’” the TikToker wrote in the caption. The duet has since been viewed more than 65,000 times, with many also suggesting that the manager’s reaction is inappropriate.
“I’m so glad I’m not the only one that found this to be highly strange,” one person wrote, while another said: “I would rather just be sent home lol not hugged and filmed.”
According to someone else, the behaviour was evidence of an “unethical power dynamic” between the manager and the employee, while another person wrote: “This feels inappropriate in the workplace.”
“To me it’s overstepping a manager’s position,” one user claimed. “You can be encouraging but you are not a therapist or their friend…you need an appropriate boundary.”
As of now, the original poster has not addressed the video.
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