Photo: TikTok
All bosses should be exactly like her.
By Zayda Slabbekoorn — Written on Jan 26, 2023
Surely it can be an uncomfortable situation to deal with conflict at work.
For many of us, Reddit forums fully included, we’ve dealt with a plethora of workplace horror stories — from ignorant bosses to distasteful coworkers, and even the occasional scandal with a customer.
It seems like a good boss is truly a one-in-a-million find — but, when you do find one, it’s almost impossible to believe.
Posted in a TikTok video from January 9th, one woman stitches another who tells the story of an interaction with her 35-year-old boss over a dispute with a realtor-client.
Assuming it will take a bad turn, as many TikToks about bosses do, what viewers watch her explain is shockingly opposite.
In a follow-up email addressing conflict, this millennial boss replied with an eloquent and well-communicative apology.
“I wrote an email to her very respectfully and courteously,” she opens the video saying after addressing some conflict that she had with her boss.
After ‘CC-ing’ her boss in an email thread she had with clients out of courtesy, she was upset to see that her boss was actually engaging in those conversations instead of just overseeing them.
She crafted her email with that in mind, saying, “While I do appreciate you commenting those things to the clients — I do feel that you were undermining me.”
She continues on to say that she felt it could jeopardize the clients’ trust in her and also create tension within the team.
At the beginning of the video, the TikToker says she’s never had a millennial boss — only older ones.
“I have worked for a narcissistic psychotic boomer and Gen X,” the TikToker says, “I recently started working for a millennial like me. She’ll be 35 or 36 years old this year — we are both millennials, but she is my senior.”
With two horrible bosses under her belt, she was already feeling the anxiety of confrontation with her boss immediately after sending the email.
“I was shaking in my f–ing boots,” she says, “Even though I stand by everything that I said and I stood up for myself — my relationships with other bosses have been with other generations."
Waiting for the response, she was freaking out by the time the emailed response finally came into her inbox. Opening it up, she could see that there were a few paragraphs to read through — but, she was shocked by her boss’s opening line.
“I see your point and I apologize.” her boss wrote simply.
“I apologize for the way I approached that. I did not mean to undermine you,” she continues.
Over the course of the rest of the email, she details how her boss provided more apologies including setting future boundaries and respecting her frustrations.
Absolutely shocked, she reads out her boss's words enthusiastically — almost in tears at her leader’s effectiveness and empathy.
Comments are amazed at this boss’s leadership style and her honest and open communication.
“I legit teared up,” one comment admits, “I can’t even fathom what it’s like to work for and with someone like this.”
The comments commend the next generations of leaders and bosses — “breaking generational trauma one email at a time,” one comment jokes.
“This healed me,” another wrote, “and this wasn’t even my boss.”
While many acknowledge that this behavior is the bare minimum for a good leader, others point out how few truly ‘good leaders’ there are in many industries.
With so much empathy, communication, and honesty being preached to younger generations, it’s the older generation of bosses that may be lacking in their leadership.
“Emotional intelligence is a skill that everyone needs to learn…even older generations of bosses.”
The TIkToker shouts that her boss's empathy ‘should be the norm’ when interacting with employees in the workplace.
Many comments point out the generalization of this woman’s TikTok calling to all millennials as true and empathetic leaders – and she’s not exactly wrong.
“Love this…but that is very generalized,” she writes, “It’s about the person, not generation.”
While a few agree in replies to her comment, many others defend the TikToker — saying that many of these ‘open and honest’ traits and characteristics are being prioritized by younger generations.
Especially with a digital landscape, many more younger generations have access to information, like social media, that expands perspectives and provides more opportunities for growth.
Overall, this TikToker and many of the comments are absolutely blown away — “This is a boss. This is how you communicate with your employees. This is how you take accountability.”
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer who focuses on pop culture analysis and human interest stories. Catch up with them on Instagram or TikTok.