A man has revealed he was reprimanded at work for telling his colleague the reason for showing up every day.
In a TikTok video, Alex Kim, who works as a nurse, shared that his colleague tried to get him fired after he confided in them that he only showed up to work so he could survive financially.
He was called into his manager’s office after telling his colleague he was showing up to “make some money”.
“The worst part about being a nurse is not the patients, not the doctors, it’s your colleagues,” Kim began in her video. “Some of my colleagues make me want to quit nursing forever.”
Kim explained that he had spoken to one of his co-workers, whom he thought had been his friend. The two were just having a casual chat, and at one point Kim told her co-worker that he came to work to earn money, but it all ended up paying his rent, food, and other expenses.
The comment was clearly meant to be lighthearted, and Kim didn’t think about it, since that’s what most people have a job for: making money. However, his colleague clearly took offense and reported his remarks to his superior.
“Then my colleague goes behind my back and tells my manager, and I know because I get a call from my boss saying, ‘Alex, we need to talk right away. Come to my office,'” he recalled. When he went to the meeting, it was his boss and the head nurse in the room.
His manager told him that she had heard that he only worked here for the money and asked him if it was true. “At first I was mortified because, number one, I didn’t really say that, but yeah, I’m here for the money,” Kim said.
“But then I thought to myself, why should I apologize for this? It’s a job, we signed a contract in which I said that I will be your nurse and provide my services, and then you pay a tariff,” he said.
Kim went on to say that he sat in his manager’s office for 20 minutes while being yelled at and telling him that if he wanted to work as a nurse he had to stop thinking about money. “The main reason I am here is to earn money because without money and without this job I will become homeless,” he stressed. “But I also like saving lives. I like taking care of people, that’s why I’m a nurse.”
There’s no reason anyone should be criticized for saying they’re working so they can survive in a world where having no money means you can’t live comfortably.
As Kim pointed out, he can enjoy working as a nurse because of the money, while enjoying the perks of taking care of people. These two things can exist at the same time.
In the comments section, people couldn’t understand why Kim was scolded for telling the truth.
“Your manager needs to touch grass…and so if you are. As long as you take good care of your (patients), it shouldn’t matter to them,” one user pointed out from TikTok.
Another user agreed, adding, “Does your manager work because he is passionate about management or does he need the money to pay his bills?”
“You didn’t deserve this. Cliché, but that co-worker is probably jealous of you. Glad you realize you’re not wrong,” a third user added.
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern issues and experiences.