Employee Wellbeing
September 29, 2022

The importance of TikTok in the corporate world

Brits are increasingly turning to TikTok to share their frustration about work. Want to find out why? Read on!

Alanah Hammond
4 minutes

The social media platform TikTok reached one billion users in the third quarter of 2021 and is expected to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2022. With so many users, different factions within the app have developed, leading to the creation of “Corporate TikTok” or #CORPORATETOK.

Within this platform workers fed up with corporate culture can now find a space to vent and relate their struggles to fellow employees. Thus it is so important to have an understanding of the use of TikTok amongst workers, to see why their frustration is occurring. 

In a post-Covid working world, where many have taken to working from home, much social interaction amongst employees has gone. No longer is there a communal common room to chat with your workmates, whilst making a cuppa, about something in the workplace that is annoying you.

Therefore, where people used to vent in person, people are now taking to TikTok to get their frustrations of the corporate world out and connect with people. 

At Myles Wellbeing, we looked into the trend to discover the volume of people engaging with this sort of content online, and their reasons behind it, ultimately all showing the importance of TikTok in this new working age. 

There are over 2.1 BILLION views on videos with the hashtag #corporatelife on TikTok

There are now hundreds of thousands of people creating content around the highs and lows of corporate life, using the platform to vent. Videos with the hashtag #corporatelife have over 2.1 billion views, and include people sharing complaints about their managers or colleagues, or frustrating parts of office jobs that millions of people can relate to. 

Videos with the hashtag #workfromhome have a huge 11.3 billion views, workers engaging with the troubles that working outside the office can bring. Videos with the hashtag #officehumor have 15.5 million views. 

#Quietquitting, the most recent work phenomenon is hugely popular on TikTok

There are over 95.8 million views on videos around the subject of ‘quiet quitting’, which is a concept where employees stop working above and beyond their job role, and instead doing their job role and nothing more. 

Michael McCreadie, Co-Founder of Myles Wellbeing commented: “The notion of quiet-quitting comes at the same time as we’re seeing a Gen Z and millennial workforce push for more attention to be put on mental health and burnout, and rightly so”.

He added, “It’s estimated that 45 percent of Gen-Z and millennials have experienced burnout at their current job, and it’s been the case in multiple industries especially through the pandemic that long, out of hours work has been expected and people are putting a stop to this by setting boundaries.” 

So, why is understanding Corporate TikTok so important? 

On the intentions behind people both posting and consuming this content, Michael also commented: “TikTok is a platform where you can infinitely scroll and find relatable content that resonates with whatever struggles you are going through whether at work or in your personal life. The use of TikTok to share woes of the workplace is interesting and shows just how many people are going through the same thing”.

Micheal added, “No one is safe from #corporatelife, with both employees and employers being poked fun at. Employers could use TikTok to tap into what is really bothering the workforce of today, and make changes in their workplaces."

In conversation with a #CORPORATETOK user

To comprehend the importance of this ever-growing platform, Myles Wellbeing spoke to Fashion Marketing Intern, Isobel, aged 22, who shared her thoughts on using TikTok to vent about work.

Isobel told Myles Wellbeing: “People love corporate slander on TikTok as it’s so relatable! We all have that one colleague that doesn’t stop talking about their love life, that one manager who micromanages and another colleague who thinks they’re better than everyone!”.

Isobel concluded by stating, “TikTok is a great way to moan about the pitfalls and challenges of corporate life and has been especially brilliant whilst we are all navigating this new hybrid work model”.

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