By Melina Mofidi
A Noah’s New York Bagels in Vacaville, California, fired a manager upon viewing her Tiktok content which the corporate office deemed as inappropriate. Many workers were angered by what they felt was an injustice and quit their jobs in protest. A video showcasing the intense event unfolding has gone viral. Yet, this is not an isolated incident. Similar sentiment has permeated the American workforce, spurring the frequency of such spectacles.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, in December 2021 alone, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs. Generally, workers are leaving their place of employment at unprecedented rates. Those in retail, hospitality, and food services, are the most common ones who take this brave step. Many state that their reasoning for doing so is the unfair lack of benefits, evidenced by a wage that barely meets the standard of living and no health care.
Such exacerbates peoples’ frustration with an already toxic work environment, which MIT Sloan Management Review asserts is the root cause for a desire to quit a job. The workplace environment holds more vitality than other factors in predicting turnover. This can be applied to the aforementioned statistics.
Since these concerning occurrences are very widespread, more perspective is required on how it affects those in close proximity to us. Tian Zhen Lin, a senior at James Logan, says,
“I quit my job after only four months because of bad customer experiences and a boss who failed to show me basic decency.”
Evidently, spending over a year and a half locked at home has withered away peoples’ social skills; they have forgotten how to properly interact with others. Since the privilege of service has now been made available to people after so long, they seemingly think of employees’ labor as disposable. These rude actions are inexcusable. Employees, particularly in the service and retail industries, unfortunately, bear the brunt of this. The weariness of handling rude people often influences people’s decisions to leave their jobs, as observed by Lin.
Psychologists say the mix of a contagious, life-threatening disease and a series of unexpected changes in the ways humans regularly engage have left people anxious, confused, and, especially if they do not believe the restrictions were necessary, deeply resentful. For instance, a Philadelphia woman pulled a gun on servers at a fast food restaurant when they asked her to order online. On the 16th, several women from Texas pummeled a hostess at a New York City family-owned restaurant.
Moreover, most employees agree that failure to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion constitutes a toxic workplace. There’s a hierarchy, leading to entry-level workers’ beratement. Those with higher positions are often patronizing. “I felt like my boss treated me like I was constantly replaceable and was extremely condescending,” Natalie, a senior at Logan, explained. It’s extremely damaging for youth to be experiencing these difficulties because it sets an example for all their future occupations and may make them hesitant to get another job. These issues should continue to be brought to light, and demanding better conditions is within the right of workers. Corporations should be held accountable.
