If the promise of working for TikTok can make you dream, the reality is far from idyllic. While the most prominent social network of the moment recorded a turnover of 4 billion dollars in 2021, and plans to reach 12 billion this year, many employees have returned to their grueling journey.
Difficult working conditions at TikTok
A survey published on May 7 in The Wall Street Journal shows the harsh working conditions endured by people working in the TikTok offices in Los Angeles. In 2020, the American branch of the social media giant had nearly 1,500 employees and said it wanted to increase this number to 10,000.
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In the United States, employees are mainly concerned with transforming products and features, often taken from Douyin, for the public and the American advertising market. However, to achieve the goals set by ByteDance, the parent company of the social network, many sacrifices are made. Among them, weight fluctuation, lack of sleep, non-existent free time, etc.
This is not the first time that working conditions within TikTok have made waves. In May 2021, employees of TikTok Europe, based in the United Kingdom, denounced the use of the management “996”. This method, mainly used in China, takes its name from Chinese working hours: from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week.
Former employees reported being forced into an average of 85 hours of meetings each week. Working hours spill over into their rest time, forcing them to attend meetings with their Chinese colleagues on weekends. As a result, working weeks start on Sunday afternoon, when it is already Monday morning in China. ” The way TikTok treats its employees is the exact opposite of the values that the social network advocates said internally Dylan Juhnke, an employee who handled partnerships for two years before quitting.
TikTok revealed to wall street journal that adjustments have been made in their work culture in order to achieve their desire to ” build and promote a team that has the means to support our growing global community “. The changes made were not specified.
The same problem for moderators
At the end of March, former moderators of the platform filed a complaint against TikTok accusing it of not having sufficiently protected them from the videos they were confronted with.
These former employees highlighted long working days spent analyzing thousands of videos, some of which were “ highly toxic and extremely disturbing “. The company would favor quantity over quality by imposing heavy quotas: 80% accuracy in decisions after a 25-second review for each video.
They also pointed to the lack of psychological support and said they had signed a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting them from sharing with their loved ones what they are enduring.
This is not the first time that the companies behind the social media giants have come under fire for their working conditions. However, these improve over the years. In November 2021, ByteDance had already reduced the working hours of its employees after several protests. To see if its TikTok branch will continue this momentum.