One customer service worker’s video went viral after she kept it a buck about the “luxury” of working from home (WFH).
On June 24, Shéi took to TikTok to discourage job seekers from falling for the okey-doke from employers who speak about the benefits of customer service positions from home.
The caption set up viewers for what would ensue. It read, “Don’t set yourself up ?. That WFH is how they reel you in.”
“If you’re thinking of working a call center job [in the] customer service space, and you have the option to do so or don’t, please do not set yourself up,” she said at the beginning of the video.
Shéi continued, “When I tell y’all this is probably the most mentally, emotionally draining job that I’ve ever had—I’ve been working since I was 15, OK? Fifteen! This is the most emotionally draining job ever.”
“You truly have to be built different to handle people because the way that people are genuinely menaces to society—you do not realize how messed up people are until you’ve got to listen to them on the phone,” she added.
Shéi even offered tips on the best customer service job to apply for.
“Get billing. Billing is the easiest call center job you can ever get.”
Watch on TikTok
The TikTok video, which has garnered almost 71,000 videos and almost 8,000 likes, got instant reactions about work-from-home jobs in the comment section.
One viewer, Bre, wrote, “Give you the most mediocre training with crazy ass metrics ?”
Unapologetically Cyn explained that customers acted in ways they’d never in person, calling them “rude.”
“People think call center jobs are easy, they ARE NOT! People get REAL bold and rude over the phone. Something they won’t do in person.”
“Call centers are a special type of hell,” Special_0124 wrote.
TikTok user Nique Nique basically said, “F*ck this job.”
“Working from is THE worst. Those customers be angry at 7:59 am and can’t wait to verbally abuse you. I am so glad I quit mine last week. ???”
Gartner reported that prior to the pandemic– 72% of customer service-based jobs were in the office. Now almost 80% of those jobs are 80-100% work-from-home positions.
“As customer service and support leaders work to formulate a lasting, post-pandemic work-from-home strategy, they need to understand the impact that this transformational shift has had and will continue to have on the employee experience,” Lauren Villeneuve, Gartner’s Advisory Director said. “Understanding employee preferences will be a key aspect of building a work-from-home strategy that will last over the long term.”
Employers don’t seem to believe there’s a problem, but Shéi and some other customer service workers would say differently.
