Viral TikTok Proves No One Wants To Go Back to the Office

Friday night employee events were bad news even in the best of times. But nearly three years into a pandemic with a workforce that’s gone hybrid, they’re even worse.

One TikToker said she showed up to work IRL and for drinks — and no one was there, per The Daily Dot — not even virtually.

“Not even the HR manager who [organized] it came in,” she wrote in the caption.

The video shows TikToker @kawaiiprincessv looking at an invitation for “Barefoot Fridays I Office Drinks,” from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“Come back into the office for the culture,” the TikToker wrote as text on top of the video, implying an employer or leader had said something of the sort.

@kawaiiprincessv Not even the HR manager who organised it came in #officehumor #backtooffice #officeculture #officelife ♬ Dont Worry Be Hurt – There I Ruined It

Then, they showed the time, 4:47 p.m. “The culture,” she wrote over the video — with a shot of the empty office.

The TikTok was posted around 3 a.m. EST. The video showed a call-in with an Australian number, potentially indicating that this is where the creator or company is based. That would put the time of the TikTok’s posting at about 6 p.m. Melbourne time.

Two people even responded to the event as virtual attendees.

“Can confirm, the 2 virtuals didn’t show. Must’ve got stuck in traffic or something,” the author joked in the comments.

“I can drink at 430 at home (and I do) without worrying about my ride home,” another person commented.

As work has re-arranged itself for the laptop set post-pandemic, companies have debated endlessly about hybrid versus in-person versus fully remote. Some have tried to convince employees to come back to the office with perks or to collaborate more, to the derision or anger of employees.

Kastle Systems’ return to office data shows a weekly occupancy rate in 10 U.S. cities, based on average swipe-ins, at 47.4%.

“Office occupancy held steady again this week, ” the security firm wrote.