If you’ve ever had a manager who ignored your messages or left you in the dark about what’s going on in your workplace, you know how discouraging it can feel. Add payroll mistakes on top of that, and the stress only grows. A California employee says her job has become unbearable because of how her manager treats her. She described the situation as “exhausting, uncomfortable, annoying, and frustrating,” claiming it has started to affect not only her mental health but also her paycheck.
In one TikTok video, the worker explained that she and her male manager are the only two employees in the office. At first, things were normal. They talked throughout the day, grabbed coffee, and sometimes even ate meals together. But over the past two months, she says he completely shut her out. According to her, the silent treatment has gone so far that she no longer gets updates, feedback, or one-on-one conversations. “I’ll sit in the office twiddling my thumbs for nine hours,” she said, describing how he ignores her texts and Teams messages, fails to tell her when he’s working from home, and even once left her locked outside for two hours.
She believes the tension may have started when she began dating someone connected to the building. While she admits she can’t prove that’s the cause, she said the timing “felt very suspect.” Her concerns also extend to payroll. She accused her manager of submitting her timesheet with missing punches. “That means I’m not going to be getting paid my full amount,” she said. She acknowledged that logging hours is her responsibility, but argued that a manager should flag mistakes before submitting. The stress has left her debating whether to go to HR or look for another job. “I just don’t know what to do,” she admitted, calling the situation unfair and mentally draining.
Netizens React to California Worker’s Toxic Workplace
Viewers shared strong opinions on how she should handle it. One HR professional advised, “I recommend finding a new job and/or going to HR, depending on if you wanna fight or not. It sounds to me like he’s creating a hostile work environment.” Someone else suggested that she should start documenting things. “If you’re so lost on your shift I would start emailing him with request of task for the day. Paper trail is imperative!!!” Another added, “Email everything, make sure everything is in writing.”
Some encouraged her to escalate the issue further. “Reach out to your Regional or whichever manager is over him… or HR,” a commenter advised. A second person said, “Ma’am, this is extremely unprofessional. No property manager should act like this especially in a two person office.” “Omg I’m going through this now with my female manager all because I spoke up for myself but I will go to HR,” shared a third.
However, not everyone trusted HR to help. “HR is never on your side. They are pro manager unfortunately,” one viewer wrote. Several simply offered sympathy. “That’s crazy! I’d def start looking for a new job,” one person wrote, while another remarked, “I’m sorry you’re going through this, how uncomfortable.”