They started posting videos about their jobs. Now they're TikTok famous.
Mary Kate Waldrow; André Isaacs; Linisha Smith; Berhanu Dallas
- BI spoke with four people who use social media to share different perspectives on their jobs.
- Through dances and skits, these individuals showcase community, passion, and purpose.
- Grocery store associates make videos to fight boredom while a teacher highlights diversity in STEM.
Every day, Linisha Smith clocks in at 5 a.m. to restock the aisles at a Safeway in Seattle. After three decades of shelving, it was starting to get boring.
That's when Smith and her two coworkers, Brian Bosch and Melissa Turner, started filming 40-second TikTok videos during their 10-minute breaks. The three of them that make the core cast of #breakroomchronicles.
Business Insider spoke to four people who use social media to share different perspectives on their jobs through skits and dance videos, while also showcasing community, passion, and purpose.
Grocery store workers dance through boredom at work
Linisha Smith
Three years, more than 400,000 followers, and 11.8 million likes later, the #breakroomchronicles trio has amassed a robust audience by wearing props like neon green boa scarves and frumpy wigs as they dance and lip-sync to songs.
"When I'm with these guys my day goes by quickly," said Turner, 47. "It makes the environment happy.
Sometimes the three of them get recognized at work or are called to the checkout area to take pictures with fans. Bosch, 67, said one customer told him the videos were popular in Uganda.
"We get a lot of comments saying, 'You guys hiring? I should apply,' " Smith said.
A nurse shows healthcare workers aren't just burned out
Mary Kate Wardlow
Mary Kat Wardlow began training to be a nurse two years ago and noticed a lot of healthcare workers shared content about hating their jobs. More than a quarter of nurses planned to leave the field by 2027, per a 2022 survey of nearly 335,000 nurses published in 2023 by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
When she started posting "day in the life" videos about working as an orthopedic nurse with older patients at a hospital in Chicago, she said other healthcare professionals online gravitated toward her positive attitude.
"You get to take care of people when it's possibly some of the worst days of their lives," Wardlow said of her work as a nurse. Despite the hard days where she can be on her feet for an entire 12-hour shift, she is deeply grateful for her work. "I feel like I'm really making a difference in people's lives."
Wardlow shares videos about her work-life balance or dance routines with her coworkers to over 12,700 followers. She enjoys seeing the response from the larger nursing community, especially peers her own age.
"I love seeing the newer nurses being like, 'Oh, this is so inspiring. This is what we want to see as we're entering our nursing careers,' " the 23-year-old said.
A science teacher highlights diversity and playfulness in STEM
André Isaacs
It was the beginning of the pandemic lockdown and associate professor of chemistry and neuroscience André Isaacs was transferring his courses online. Several people recommended he check out TikTok to better understand his Gen Z students.
At first, he used it to cope, he said. Then it became a way to excite his followers about science. He wants to change the narrative around stuffy scientists sitting alone surrounded by research. Many of his videos show Isaacs and his students at the College of the Holy Cross wearing lab coats amid beakers and flasks.
Isaacs now has over half a million followers on TikTok and one of his most popular videos, which parodies Kendrick Lamar's recent Super Bowl performance, has over 400,000 likes on Instagram.
"Diversity is our greatest asset, even if the government disagrees… They not like us! POC in STEM are here to stay," the caption for the Super Bowl-inspired video reads, pulling lyrics from Lamar's song "Not Like Us."
That's the other side of Isaacs' goofy dances: his passion for highlighting diversity in STEM and championing science communication.
"As a Black queer immigrant, I remember growing up, I didn't see a whole lot of role models or people who look like me in STEM," Isaacs said.
A teacher uses skits to inspire his high school students
Berhanu Dallas
Two years ago, high school marketing teacher Berhanu Dallas did not even have Instagram. Today, his account — which was started by his students — has over 1.4 million followers.
The 36-year-old Forest Park High School teacher became a social media hit once his students started pitching him skit ideas to showcase life inside the classroom. Many of the videos feature comical skits where he eats an apple his students picked from the trash can or is mocked for having dry skin.
Parents and school administrators know it's all in good fun and have given him good feedback, Dallas said. He thinks that's because the videos show a side of school life where students are engaged and excited about school.
"There's this perception that students are rude and disrespectful," Dallas said. "I really wanted to start a channel to show people a different side of teaching. A teacher that loves being in the classroom and students that love being in the classroom as well."
Dallas films with his students on Fridays after school and on the weekends. But the extra work is worth it for Dallas who uses student participation in the videos as an opportunity to engage them toward academic success.
How do you find meaning and purpose in your work? Reach out to this reporter at jdeng@insider.com.