Man Moves Into Cubicle After Not Being Able to Afford Rent, Gets Fired
One TikToker was unable to pay rent and decided to move into his office cubicle.
Chibuzor Ejimofor, who uses the name Simon Jackson professionally, created a series of viral TikToks concerning his situation and predicament.
Jackson lives in Seattle and with the rent inflation in the city and his student loans, he was unable to afford to live nearby.
“[The apartments] were too expensive anyway, and I was denied a performance review by my employer [design and engineering consultancy firm Arcadis],” he shared, which potentially could have offered him a raise.
The idea came about when he realized that his company has a completely empty office downtown due to the pandemic.
"They do not pay me enough to do both, so as a matter of protest, I am just going to live at my job, and we'll see how long I can get away with this," he added.
Jackson managed to live there three nights and four days before his employers got wind of his living situation due to a video of his new digs on TikTok. Since he posted it on March 8, it reached over 12 million views.
Human Resources called him and told him to clean out the cubicle and to delete his posts about his work situation or he would be fired. He chose the latter.
"I wish they approached the TikToks differently and maybe had a conversation with me about whether there was something more serious going on in terms of money," he told Insider.
"But do I understand their response? 100%."
He added, "Honestly though, if I hadn't posted the videos on TikTok, I think I could have lived in the office for at least six months with no issue."
He hopes to take his newfound viral fame to build his personal brand and his romper business. In the meantime, he will be traveling and staying with different friends.