Man Told to 'Experience' Culture at Job Finds Empty Office, Sparks Debate

Viewers are relating to a now-viral TikTok video that revealed an empty office waiting for a man when he returned to work.

"'Come into the office,' they said," read the text over @resumeowls' video, which has been viewed nearly 1 million times. "'Experience the culture,' they said."

The camera then panned around the empty office space.

A study conducted by FlexJobs last year found that a majority of employees prefer to work from home.

"Fifty-eight percent of workers said they would 'absolutely' look for a new job if they cannot continue remote work in their current role," the organization said. "An additional 31% said they aren't sure what they would do, and only 11% said that working remotely is not a big deal."

The study found that 65 percent of survey participants said they preferred to work remotely full-time, while 33 percent wanted a hybrid work arrangement and 2 percent wanted to work in the office full-time.

There were several points that employees said were beneficial of working at home, including saving money, not having to commute and being more productive.

"Let me be remote," read the caption of @resumeowls' video. "Not fooling anyone with your 'culture.'"

In the video, computers could be seen sitting atop the long tables in the office space, but there were no employees working at them.

The short clip prompted viewers to talk about whether they were expected to return to their own offices and why many of them preferred to work from home.

"I get asked to go in as it's important," a viewer wrote. "I turn up. It's empty. So tell me again why I'm here?"

Another wrote that they realized most offices are "cramped, miserable and deeply uninspiring."

"Why do I want to feel like a battery hen when I could be at home," they wondered.

One TikTok user said when they arrive at the office on their scheduled days, they find themselves alone.

"I think [people] who know that they perform better in the office are already in the office," a viewer wrote. "Let [people] who want to work from home stay at home."

A TikTok user wrote they work a hybrid schedule, but when they work in the office, they find that their productivity is low.

"'Company Culture' is a very overrated term," opined a viewer.

Newsweek reached out to @resumeowls for comment.

Other viral content has been inspired by working and office life.

A video went viral earlier this year after it showed a receptionist at a doctor's office who appeared to be working from home. Rather than the receptionist sitting at the front desk, an iPad was propped up and her image was on the screen.

An employee went viral in March when he moved into his office cubicle to protest living costs, which resulted in a raise for his co-workers.

One viral clip left viewers conflicted earlier this month after a recruiter said people looking for a job should find one that they can "tolerate" and will pay their bills.