Woman explains how 'finding your way through' a new job involves discovering the right place to eat

Entering into work life is a big jump. With so many new perspectives and practices, it’s like the first day of school or college but with more responsibilities and opportunities. The initial days can be tough, getting the workload right, building rapport with colleagues, understanding the corporate culture and so on. Even learning the jargon and lifestyle of the workplace can be difficult. A newly hired employee, @simmplyemmily, took to TikTok to share a common yet unique experience she had at work.

She posted a video where she was on her lunch break in her new office. However, as most of us would visualize, she was not with a group or around people. She was sitting all alone in an empty break room, having lunch. In her video, she simply captured a glimpse of the empty room and herself eating alone, wondering where employees have their lunch. The situation seemed very awkward and unusual and is something many of us may have faced at different times. The video went viral and it received over 6 million views.

Now the question lies, where did these employees have their lunch? Did this new employee figure it out? Was it a prank? To answer all these questions, she posted another video, where she spoke about why the room was empty. She said, “I think I figured it out.” She mentioned that she recorded the video on Monday and most of her colleagues were working hybrid. She later explained that she took her lunch break later than her colleagues, which explains the empty room. It must have been a relief to know that the reason for the awkward experience was just a mild mix-up of timings. In the process, she also found a better alternative to lunch and dealing with a long workday. She said, “It’s interesting because I purposely take my lunch later at 1 pm because I feel like I’m done with most of the day and I leave sooner.”

 Things don’t end here. When all was said and done, her trending TikTok video reached one of her colleagues. She also got clarity on how lunch works at her workplace, which she explained to her viewers in another follow-up video. She started her video by saying, “I was in a meeting and I got a message on Teams saying, ‘Girl, your video showed up in my feed.’’’ Her colleague very sweetly explained the mix-up to her, explaining the same she said, “She said she eats at her desk, goes outside or to the cafeteria.” She also said that some even eat in their cars and explained, “I am currently eating in my car because I wanted to have a nap.”

She turned a scary and awkward situation into a light-hearted and relatable one. Moreover, situations like these are very common and it is all about how we react. This new employee very calmly and sweetly shared her experience. Amidst the same, she also interestingly learned about her work culture. It goes out as a message for us not to get worked up at new beginnings and different situations. All you have to do is be yourself and keep going and you’ll find help and support along the way just like this new employee did.