A woman was shocked and dismayed after she was fired from her job for showing up late numerous times and failing to show up at all one day that she was scheduled to work.
The woman insisted that she did not deserve to be fired after failing to show up to her scheduled shift because it was her birthday.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 4.6 million times, Totsionna shared a recorded phone conversation between herself and an HR representative named Shelley. During the phone call, Totsionna learned that she was being terminated from her job.
According to Shelley, Totsionna had repeatedly clocked in late to her shifts, even after being given a warning. The two had allegedly had prior discussions regarding her absences and tardiness.
The HR rep provided all the details of Totsionna’s consistent tardiness.
Though she was scheduled to clock in at 6 a.m. for each of her shifts, she reportedly clocked in 12 minutes late on July 18, 21 minutes late on July 28, and 32 minutes late on August 8.
Totsionna expressed her shock that her lateness was an issue, to which Shelley reminded her that people are “waiting on you to be there clocked in and ready to work at 6.”
On August 12, Totsionna failed to show up to work at all and did not even bother to call out.
However, August 12 was her birthday, and she did not believe that she should’ve been expected to come to work.
Shelley reminded her that if she wanted her birthday off of work, she should have requested the day weeks ago rather than neglecting to show up when she was on the schedule.
“Everyone works on their birthdays,” Shelley added. “Even I work on my birthday.”
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock
However, Totsionna couldn’t fathom the idea. “Y’all are too grown for me,” she told Shelley.
When Shelley requested that Totsionna return her work keys, she informed her that she would still be coming into work the following day since her being fired was “crazy,” yet she captioned her video, “I’m done working! It’s too serious.”
While Totsionna clearly believed that she was unreasonably fired, others were not on board with her opinion.
“I was so embarrassed by your excuses,” one TikTok user commented.
“A no call no show just because it’s your birthday is crazy,” another commenter wrote.
“Shelley deserves a raise for not laughing,” a third user remarked.
“I never thought I would see the day that I fully agree with a publicized HR decision. They were very generous,” an X user and career coach shared on the platform.
While everyone certainly deserves to celebrate on their birthdays, adults with full-time jobs should still expect to be scheduled to work — unless they request the day off, of course.
Investigative Journalist Sharyl Attkisson conducted a poll in 2022 in which she asked whether or not employees should be entitled to get their birthday off work.
Of the 855 respondents, 57% said “no way,” and 40% said the decision should ultimately be left “up to the boss.” Only 3% said workers should “absolutely” be given a paid day off on their special day.
It appears that Totsionna falls into the minority opinion.
If you really don’t want to work on your special day, you can absolutely request the day off. If it is approved, the day is yours! But you should never assume that you do not have to work just because it is your birthday. To everyone else, it is just a day where the world keeps turning and everything is business as usual.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
