Man Shares Former Employer's Response to Colleague's Death—'Dystopian'

A former education coordinator has told Newsweek of his “frustration” at how his then-bosses reacted when one of their colleagues passed away.

Austin, from Colorado, who would prefer to keep his full identity private, watched through a screen while his previous employers announced his colleague’s death—as a single bullet point on a meeting agenda.

The former education coordinator, known online as @captainhowdylife, took to TikTok on May 5 to share the moment, which he describes as “dystopian”.

“I was working in this position for about four weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic when my colleague Gary became ill and required oxygen support equipment while in the workplace,” Austin told Newsweek.

Gary, whom Austin never got the opportunity to know well, later passed away.

Austin, known online as @captainhowdylife, sits at a work meeting. The former education coordinator told Newsweek about his “disbelief” at how his former bosses handled a colleague’s death.

@captainhowdylife

“The video I shared showcases the office staff’s meeting agenda from April 27, 2021,” Austin said. “The screenshot highlights the first meeting note on the agenda with the title being my co-worker’s name, which I blurred out for privacy reasons, followed by the first bullet point, which simply read ‘passed away this weekend’.”

Austin felt prompted by his feelings of disbelief and frustration to share the screenshot on social media. The overlaid text on the video read: “Thinking of the time my coworker literally died and they put it in the meeting agenda.”

The post, which plays against Bronski Beat’s 1984 hit “Smalltown Boy”, had been captioned: “Is this dystopian? Let’s take a moment of silence to think about how we’re going to make our sales quota this quarter.”

“I created this video to express my surprise at how they revealed this tragic news and reduced its significance to a mere bullet point in a weekly meeting agenda,” Austin said.

“My initial reaction naturally produced feelings of disbelief that a co-worker I’ve only just begun to work with had passed away, but that disbelief soon turned into frustration at the lack of empathy for this loss, at seeing Gary not so much as a human being but as a worker whose responsibilities must be reassigned immediately for workplace efficiency.”

Viewers were able to see that the bullet point was headed with the text: “Forward all facilities issues.”

Austin told Newsweek that his late colleague’s passing was met with minimal efforts to address the emotions felt by members of staff at the time.

“Bosses said a few words to reflect, but ultimately we moved on to other matters of business. It felt like his life’s end had been reduced to a mere bullet point,” Austin said.

“I hope this video encourages the public to value their life outside of the workplace, and to work toward bringing a more human connection to the workplace,” he added.

The Internet’s Reaction

Austin’s video has struck a chord with viewers, having amassed over 1.5 million views since it was shared to the platform at the beginning of May. Several viewers have voiced their agreement with Austin in the post’s comments section, by echoing his disdain at the company’s handling of Gary’s death.

A number of commenters have expressed their opinions through funny quips, while others have shared their own similar experiences in the workplace.

“Greetings, did Gary (RIP) leave any turnover notes? Best,” one user, @emaawaa, wrote.

Another, @user928374729020, commented: “Death announcement as a bulletin point is wild.”

“If that doesn’t pivot your life as a person, I don’t know what would,” a third user, who goes by Sorana on TikTok, shared.

“One time my co-worker died AT HIS DESK and they wouldn’t address it,” a different viewer, @phoebegorl, added.

Austin’s post comes after insurance firm MetLife revealed the results of its 2023 survey into workplace satisfaction. The study concluded that 42 percent of the 2,884 employees assessed do not feel cared for by their bosses.

“I hope this video encourages others to value who they interact with in the workplace and refrain from dehumanizing the general workforce populations,” Austin said, “reducing them to mere bullet points when significant life events occur.”

Updated on 05/22/24 at 03:21 ET with a correction to Austin’s current location.

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