The video was posted to TikTok by Alex (@alexahom), who wrote: “Truly shocked deep down to the core.” It has amassed nearly 500,000 views and has left some wondering, “What the hell happened to human empathy?”

Empathetic Bosses

American workers want empathetic managers, according to research from EY Consulting.

A 2021 survey of just over a thousand American employees conducted by the company revealed that 90 percent of workers associate empathetic leadership with higher job satisfaction, and 88 percent said it creates employee loyalty. In fact, roughly half of those surveyed said they’d previously quit a job due to their employers’ lack of empathy for either their work struggles or their personal lives.

“The best managers are people who genuinely care about the people they work with, and [who] report to them,” GoodHire CEO Mike Grossman told Fast Company. “It’s not just lip service, it’s not just rhetoric; they actually care about the people, how happy they are, about their professional development, and they invest the time and energy to help folks on their team.”

Brian Kropp, chief of research for Gartner’s HR practice, added: “If you don’t want your employees talking to you about their personal situations, their personal needs, and if you’re not going to be there to support them, odds are you shouldn’t be a manager.”

‘Truly Shocked’

In his video, Alex said he opened up to his boss about his father’s cancer battle. Unfortunately, the admission wasn’t handled quite as he’d hoped.

“I told my boss in confidence about my dad’s cancer,” read the video’s text overlay.

“Before the day was over, my boss had shared it with leadership and said I was unfit for a promotion because I had brought my personal life to work and put him in a position where he felt he needed to give me time off during a busy period.”

In his caption, Alex said he was “truly shocked” by the whole situation.

Viewers React

Many viewers slammed Alex’s boss, calling him a “terrible” leader.

“Actually this boss is unfit to be in a leadership position,” Kaishy Tariq said.

“That is beyond cruel! You deserved to be supported,” Clare James wrote.

“And this is why there is a shortage of workers. What the hell happened to human empathy?” nancy bernreuter asked.

Easterxhild555 added: “Omg that boss should be fired. Terrible leadership. I’m so sorry.”

Newsweek has reached out to Alex for comment.

Other Viral Moments

Redditors slammed an employee on Wednesday for asking their co-workers to contribute $100 each toward their boss’ Christmas gift. Also on Thursday, commenters bashed a manager for expecting their employee to respond to an after-hours email.

And on Monday, commenters slammed a boss who refused to let an employee miss a shift for a doctor’s appointment.