A Gen Z worker has sparked a debate online after refusing to attend a morning meeting just because they had a gym class they needed to get to.
In a now-deleted video posted to TikTok, the hosts of the podcast Demoted, Natalie Marie and Ross Pomerantz, received some intense backlash after giving their reaction to an email they received from a listener who claimed that their Gen Z employee, who was new at the business, refused to attend an 8 AM meeting because it conflicted with their "workout class."
"You just started this job. I don't give a flying s*** about your workout class," Natalie said in the video. "Also, an 8 AM workout class is too late. Work out at six, maybe seven."
Ross also had a similar reaction, stating that the employee's actions made him "shake" with anger.
The video was re-posted to Twitter, better known now as X:"My visceral reaction was are you f****** kidding me? My hand's shaking, and it's not from the caffeine," he said, before adding that personal time shouldn't interfere with work.
"To monopolize your calendar for things that I would consider to be personal time, that's gonna be a 'no' for me dog," he added, which prompted Natalie to say: "You're not really allowed to do that when you're first starting your career I'm sorry."
Before the video was taken down, a fellow TikToker called Alexandre Evidente stitched it and had a response directed to the hosts.
"Okay, let's just say I skip the gym," he said in his video. "Two things. When can I expect you to reimburse me for my class? And two, are you going to be paying me from 8 AM to 9 AM? Or at the very least let me leave at 4 PM Natalie, if your answer to both of those are 'no' then there's no discussion needed."
I mean, I'm a Zillenial and I gotta agree - if you want to start the day early, you gotta pay me for my time or at least make up for it in some other manner.
Having healthy boundaries with work is important, people! Remember that!
Anyway, in the wake of all the drama, Natalie recently posted a follow-up video in which she explained that she understood why the pair were getting some "heat."
After clarifying a few things, she then went on to state that she doesn't believe in working if you're not being paid for your time.
"Just to be clear, if you're not being paid to work before 9 AM, you do not have to work before 9 AM. [I] do not condone that in the slightest," she said in the follow-up clip.
She then blamed it on the way the original video was "cut" and added: "The way we were getting so fired up about it - totally take ownership for that. We will take the heat. We will wear it. If you wanna attack us in the comments absolutely go for it..."
And some people did.
"Different attitude now," one user wrote, accusing Natalie of changing her tune after the backlash.
However, others accepted that the hosts were taking accountability with this user writing: "Damn love that you took accountability and made the situation clear."
What do you think?
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