‘The Cutting Room Floor’ Host Defends Job Opening For People Who Want To ‘Hustle’ For $55K & No Benefits
The job posting, specifically the salary, caused quite an uproar.
insta_photos | Shutterstock A podcast host is having to defend a recent job posting where the requirements, responsibilities, and even the location of the job didn't seem to match up at all with the amount she was willing to pay the candidates applying for the position. In a since-deleted video that has sparked widespread debate and criticism, host Recho Omondi of "The Cutting Room Floor," a popular fashion podcast featuring prominent celebrity guests, announced that she was hiring for a position within the company.
However, the job posting didn't go over too well with many people, who pointed out that the role should be paying way more in relation to the job requirements, especially in this economy.
Host Recho Omondi defended the podcast's job opening for people who want to 'hustle' for $55k and no benefits.
In a repost of Omondi's video, she explained that she was looking for someone who could follow "clear instructions," as she refuses to hire anyone who doesn't know how to listen and accurately complete the responsibilities assigned to the role. Omondi was looking for a "studio coordinator" who could work full-time, based in New York City, in person, and would need to start immediately.
Considering how popular "The Cutting Room Floor" podcast has become, many job seekers and fans of the show were initially excited about potentially being able to work for Omondi, but then she shared the salary and the details of the job.
'The Cutting Room Floor' job did not include any benefits.
Not only was she offering an abysmally low $55,000 salary pre-tax, but the job also did not include any benefits. Yeah, that's pretty bad, but it gets worse when you realize the studio coordinator position was more like three jobs rolled into one.
Qualifications for a studio coordinator, according to Omondi, included someone to handle "office admin" work, assist with bookings, and also serve as a personal assistant. That isn't something most people could handle all on their own. People were also critical of Omondi over the low salary for a job in New York City, where the cost of living was exceedingly high.
According to a report from a research group at Columbia University and Robin Hood, an anti-poverty group, the share of New Yorkers in poverty nearly doubled the national average in 2023 and had increased by seven percentage points in just two years. The poverty threshold for a couple with two children in a rental household in New York City is now $47,190.
The reason employees are burned out is that they are forced to work jobs like this.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 44% of 1,405 surveyed U.S. employees feel burned out at work, 45% feel "emotionally drained" from their work, and 51% feel "used up" at the end of the workday.
Due to a lack of pay, no work-life balance, and not being able to enjoy benefits like PTO, jobs like the one Omondi posted for "The Cutting Room Floor" are the reason why so many people are running on empty when it comes to work in general.
Content creator Cristina Ashly had a lot ot say on the specific topic. "This is the exact reason why people are sick, unwell, and they just physically don't wanna work anymore," Ashly insisted. "The jobs are not set up in a way that allows people to thrive outside of their work life."
CEOs, bosses, and hiring managers need to understand that the happiness of their employees directly correlates to the success of the company. There's no sugarcoating it or trying to get around that fact.
If you want people to work hard and show up day in and day out, they need to feel appreciated. That means paying a fair wage that directly reflects not only their role but their worth as a human. A full-time employee should be able to live comfortably in the city where they work, and they should absolutely be afforded health benefits.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
