Woman who was laid off leaves office with hilariously chaotic prank: 'Gone but never forgotten'

Irrespective of your circumstances, getting laid off is not an enjoyable experience. It's actually not that different from a breakup. Most people just feel sad, try to move on and find a new partner... or in this case, a better job. But when Marchie (@the.marchie) got laid off from her job, she decided to seek revenge with a mischievous prank. The 25-year-old sales and marketing professional refused to silently go off into the night and deviously played a little parting prank to make sure that her former employer would never forget her. In a TikTok video that received 5 million views, she explained her amusingly chaotic plan. If this isn't a prank played well, we don't know what is. 

Marchie explains in the video clip, "So I was laid off and Friday was my last day and I was the only member of my team to get laid off, which really super sucked. But to prove that I will never actually leave, I hid these pictures of myself all over the office with different things in the speech bubble. And at 3:30 today on Monday, I've been informed that this is what they've been doing all day." She tilts her head to reveal a whiteboard where her former coworkers are tirelessly gathering the photos. However, there's an epic twist that adds to the tumultuousness of her prank.

"The best part about it is, I numbered all these photos, but I skipped numbers. They'll never think they've found all of them," Marchie shared while laughing her heart out loud. People on TikTok loved her prank. "I just know they regret laying you off. This is hysterical. They are gonna miss this kinda energy," commented @jordynburdette. "I’m really sorry you lost your job but omg they will NEVER forget you!! That's how you leave your mark lmao!!!" wrote @lyghtsyght01.

A few others shared how they also left a mark at their office when they were laid off. "I once left a toxic workplace and placed a single rose with the note: When this is dead I will have forgotten you all," shared @plzfixthnx. "When I left my old job, I left loads of tiny ducks around the office. I told them I placed 200 when I only placed 34, they're still hunting them down," added @Shannon. 

Speaking to BuzzFeed, Marchie said she felt like she left on her own terms and took her empowerment back. "I probably should have known, because other departments were doing major layoffs, but I didn’t have an inkling of anyone in my department. Ultimately, I was the only one in my department to be laid off. After the initial shock, private meltdowns, and financial calculations, I realized I would be alright until a new job which allowed me a little bit of levity about the situation," she said. "Even though none of this was my choice, I still wanted to leave somewhat on my terms. I knew my office mates would enjoy this scavenger hunt and it would waste company time, so it was a win-win!"

We are sure her prank created chaos at the office. Marchie confirmed as much by adding: "My work bestie kept me updated on the numbers and mounting frustration as they couldn’t find them all, just as I had designed. As far as I’m aware, they still have not found all of the real ones and it’s likely it will be a long time until they do."

She also explained how her experience was pretty common. "I am lucky to be in a financial position that this wasn’t completely detrimental to my ability to pay rent or buy groceries. I’m aware that’s a position many are not in. It’s endlessly frustrating to me how careless companies can be with their employees' lives. With rising costs and most people being radically underpaid, it’s difficult to save," Marchie said. "America also does not provide the social safety net many countries do for situations like this. I don’t think I would have found this humor if I weren’t lucky enough to be financially secure, in part because of my online presence." Her prank surely might have inspired one too many on how to leave an impression and deal with a layoff with flair.