A man’s LinkedIn post, written on behalf of his late wife, has gone viral, with many people agreeing that companies need to start caring more about their employees as human beings rather than how much money they can make off them. Research has even shown that employees who are happy at work are more productive.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Morgan said she had come across the post and was horrified at the amount of disrespect one company had for an employee who passed away. While the company planted a tree in the worker’s honor, the husband claims they could have done way more.
“This is hands down the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen on LinkedIn, and I wanted to post this to remind you guys that your employer does not care about you,” Morgan began in her video. She explained that the since-deleted post was written by a husband after his wife recently passed away.
He started off explaining that his wife, Terah, unfortunately, passed away, but the real issue for him was how quickly the company she had worked for posted a job description for her replacement, instead of checking in with him and the rest of their grieving family.
“I hope this serves as a cautionary tale to those of you who think that the company you spend too much time working for, and not enough time with the people you love … that when you die from overworking yourself for them (because they were too slow in giving you the resources you requested to not have to overwork yourself), they responded very quickly to replace you,” he wrote on his wife’s account. “And responded very slowly to make sure that your family you leave behind is taken care of in any meaningful way,” he added.
He continued, claiming that the only thing his late wife’s company did to acknowledge her passing was planting a tree in her honor, instead of contributing in any meaningful or heartwarming way, including helping out with funeral expenses or even helping her husband with rent since he’s now having to live off of his own income.
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The company where the man’s late wife worked used some questionable descriptors for what they were looking for in potential job candidates. “You guys will not believe what the company description still says,” Morgan incredulously pointed out. “This company essentially hires a bunch of PR professionals and rents them out to companies that need them.”
In the company description on LinkedIn, the organization claimed that it loves hiring people who never get sick or take vacation days. Instead of hiring someone who values a healthy work-life balance, they would prefer someone who is all about the job.
“I genuinely cannot fathom thinking this is something to brag about, so my condolences go out to this family and any family that this has happened to. This is disgusting,” Morgan added. “Don’t give your life away to your job because they clearly are not ashamed to say they don’t care.”
This idea that people need to “live to work” and should prioritize their job over everything else is such a Westernized belief that has more negative outcomes than positives.
There is a societal expectation in the United States that individuals should be ambitious and career-focused at all times. The “girl boss” mentality, in which the pursuit of career success is often seen as a noble endeavor, can pressure people to prioritize their professional lives over personal or leisure activities.
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Overworking yourself will only lead to high stress, burnout, lack of productivity, and even some mental health issues, including both anxiety and depression.
People should always prioritize enjoyment, leisure, and other personal fulfillment outside of a job because life is multifaceted and shouldn’t ever be dimmed by the idea of working until you drop. On top of that, employers need to be more understanding of this reality.
Having compassion for the people who work for you should go without saying, and is something that many job seekers want. According to a 2023 Workplace Mental Health report conducted by Calm, more than two-thirds (67%) of employees admitted that they want their employer to help them take care of their stress and anxiety instead of adding to it.
The workplace should be a space where individuals feel valued, supported, and cared for, both personally and professionally, instead of employers prioritizing and valuing profit over people.
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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
