Worker Uses Team Meeting To Call Out Boss For Being Late & Withholding Money — 'You Should Be Ashamed'
Stanley stood up for himself and his coworkers.
Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels & TikTok An employee at a bank advocated for himself by calling his boss out during a team meeting, listing off his various complaints about the workplace. In a TikTok filmed by another worker, Stanley confronted the man responsible for holding a training session.
He opened his cathartic speech by stating that other team members “are probably not happy. They’re probably just desperate for a little bit of money that’s been promised them,” Stanley speaks truth to power, outlining the economic challenges many workers are currently experiencing.
“Why didn’t you start at 9 o’clock with us?” Stanley asked, not shying away from asking questions that held the trainer accountable. He didn't end his workplace critique there.
The disgruntled employee called his supervisor out for being late and not providing the paycheck they deserved.
“I think you should be ashamed of yourself after the training you’ve put us through,” he continued. “You started at what, 9:50 today? Some of us were on the laptops at 8:30. You started at 9:50 and then you rabbitted on about perks for a bit.”
“Okay, that’s your opinion, that’s perfectly fine,” the trainer said, before defending his arrival time. “I did not start at 9:50,” the trainer continued. “I have been here well before 9 am,” emphasizing that “other tasks took priority.”
“Why didn’t you explain that to us? Why do we have to waste time?" Stanley asked. “Why do you go quiet when we talk? Just sitting in variable moments of silence with you throughout 7 and a half hours a day, for what, 130 pounds?”
130 pounds comes out to just $161, which is significantly below a living wage. Stanley’s coworker, who recorded the incident, could be heard laughing in the background.
“Long live Stanley… start the revolution,” he captioned the post.
Harvard Business Review offered guidance for employees dealing with incompetent bosses, advising workers to have empathy for their supervisors and to remember that they’re human, first and foremost. Yet leading with understanding and open-mindedness doesn’t mean going back on the boundaries you’ve set for yourself.
The Harvard Business Review also recommends setting certain “psychological boundaries so that your boss’s incompetence doesn’t negatively impact your health or wellbeing, and to focus on the broader good of the organization and what you can do to contribute.”
Stanley did just that. He refused to let anything stop him from speaking his truth and told the trainer exactly how he felt. “This is absolute rubbish. It’s absolute c--p and it is a shambles.”
Stanley also called out his fellow employees for not taking a stand along with him.
“I wish more people here would have the guts to say that.” A few moments later, Stanley resigned. Of the 11.5 million likes and over 9,000 comments, most people were in support of Stanley and his mission for worker’s justice.
“Stanley is the voice of every worker,” said one person in the comments.
“King!” Commented another person. One fan of Stanley’s work even came up with the idea to “start a trend where Stanley joins random company team meetings and tells it like it is.”
A Zippia survey completed to better understand the exact nature of "toxic employee-boss relationships" asked 2,000 workers what behavior they disliked in their bosses. Incompetence was named by 13.5 percent of employees as what they hated most about their managers.
But bias can be a factor in declaring someone incompetent. It's important for people to check their biases before casting judgment. Yet knowing when to leave an unsuitable working environment is a very valuable skill. Understanding your worth and elevating your own value as a worker is also incredibly valid, traits that Stanley has certainly mastered.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.