Workplace Advocacy: Veronika (vxo13)

Hello. It's been a while. I feel like I keep saying that too much these days. It's amazing how stress can detract from your own personal hobbies and interests. In any case, I know I am beating the dead horse by now, but all I can promise my readers (if any of them actually exist), is that I will add new content whenever I can. This website is a hobby of mine, and as such, I don't really have any "fans" or "customers" to answer to.

In any case, I've noticed this individual for a while now, largely through some YouTube cartoons depicting some of her TikToks, but a lot of what she has to say is surprisingly spot on, and a great way to advocate for yourself in an increasingly pro-corporate (and anti-employee) America. I am also in the middle of reading a very interesting book that I would like to post a review on, but I intend to do that once I reach the end of it.

In any case, the person I am talking about is a social media influencer that goes by the name of "Veronika". Her official TikTok handle is vxo13, and she has several entertaining short videos on how to advocate for yourself as an employee in Corporate America. Many employees are easily intimidated and bullied by their supervisors, and are afraid to say no to their managers, even when they cross the fine line between what is acceptable under US labor law, and what is discriminatory and toxic.

Some of you may be familiar with Veronika's work via exposure to it in the form of these little stick figure cartoons that are on YouTube and other forms of social media. In fact, that is how I first discovered her. That said, many of these animators are stealing her assets such as her voice recordings, so don't support them, if at all possible.

From what I have seen from Veronika's videos, they are comical in a "it's funny because it's true" kind of way, while at the same time, providing useful tips on how to exercise your rights as an employee that is protected by state and federal labor laws. While I try to make my articles informative and helpful in the sense that it points out specifically who, what, when, where and why you are protected, Veronika cuts straight to the point and exerts her rights as employee that often has to deal with difficult supervisors and co-workers. While she won't necessarily cite the United States Code or references specific federal agencies in her various skits that she posts on her TikTok, she will assert herself in a way that shows her employers and supervisors that she enjoys her personal freedom outside of normal working hours, and isn't going to take disrespect or abuse from anyone within the company that she works for, or from customers that she has to deal with.

While I personally may not be as outspoken as Veronika in my various encounters with toxic co-workers or supervisors (I tend to collect my evidence quietly and unassumingly and use it as needed on a case-by-case basis), I can tell from these videos that Veronika is an excellent workplace self-advocate, and I would highly recommend checking out her videos, if for other reason than to blow off some steam. As I stated before, several of these videos are very humorous and in my opinion very relatable to just about anyone that has to work a job in corporate America. Employers want their workers to be timid and submissive. Don't let them take advantage of you. Know your rights. Be strong and assertive when defending yourself. You don't necessarily need to be disrespectful, but you should know when you're in the right, and when to stand your ground when your workplace is trying to take advantage of you.