Boss slams Gen Z employee who couldn’t make meeting due to their workout

A boss went viral after slamming a Gen Z applicant who couldn’t make a work meeting due to their ‘workout class.’

One man’s work meeting has split the internet into a debate surrounding work ethics and what is reasonable to expect from an employee.

The drama began after a clip from the Demoted podcast was posted to TikTok. In it, hosts Natalie Marie and Ross Pomerantz discussed a Gen Z employee who refused to attend a meeting due to having a ‘workout class’ scheduled.

Both hosts stressed how unacceptable this was, likely never expecting another TikTok user to stitch the clip and allege that the story was about him.

Alexandre Evidente, who goes by ‘trekfit‘ on the platform, stitched Demoted’s video and said, “It was made very clear during the interview process that the working hours for this position is between 9 to 5 PM Eastern time and I am on Eastern time.”

He went on to claim this was made “very clear” with HR due to having commitments outside of work, stating, “Sure, I can make a sacrifice to go to an 8 AM meeting had I known at least a week before that I needed to go at 8 AM — not a day before.”

“Let’s just say I skip the gym, two things: when can I expect you to reimburse me for my class? And two, are you going to be paying me from 8 AM to 9 AM?” Alexandre asked. “Natalie, if your answer to both of those are ‘no’ then there’s no discussion needed.”

The video quickly went viral and sparked mass outrage aimed toward Natalie and the Demoted podcast. However, it turned out the story wasn’t what it appeared to be.

In a follow-up video, Alexandre revealed he was never the employee in question and had posted his stitch as a skit showcasing his “genuine reaction to the situation.” Attempting to clear the air after Natalie was bombarded with hate comments, he said, “What I said… is what I would say if I were in that situation.”

While the original clip from the podcast has since been removed from TikTok, Natalie did respond to the debacle with further context surrounding her frustration at the mystery Gen Z employee.

“To be clear, we fully deserve this heat,” Natalie began. “If you’re not getting paid to work before 9 AM, you do not have to work before 9 AM. Do not condone that in the slightest, this is for a salaried employee.”

“If you are hourly or you work a job that the hours are strictly 9 to 5, please do not work outside those hours — you’re not getting compensated for it and that’s not worth it,” Natalie concluded.

Viewers were shocked by the series of plot twists, sharing in the comment section their disbelief that Alexandre nearly successfully had Natalie “canceled” over a skit. One person wrote to Alexandre, “Skit??? That’s wild. I was ready to go to war for you.”