TikTok users parody cheesy HR training videos in viral trend

18 hours ago7 min read

As the new year kicks into gear, a familiar ritual unfolds in offices worldwide: the mandatory HR training module. These digital courses, covering everything from harassment policies to cybersecurity, have become a ubiquitous and often groan-inducing part of corporate life.Their format is painfully standardized—a series of simplistic scenarios with multiple-choice answers, set against a backdrop of mind-numbing elevator music. Now, a wave of TikTok creators is weaponizing that shared experience, turning the dry corporate script into a viral comedic trend.It started with creators like @pepsimasc, who in November posted a skit posing hilariously deranged alternatives to standard workplace dilemmas. The scenario begins conventionally enough: “It’s 5 pm and you notice one of your colleagues is crying at their desk.” But the options quickly veer into the absurd: “Do you A: check in and ask how they’re doing, or B: tell them to shut the fuck up?” The bit perfectly captures the soul-crushing boredom of these trainings by amplifying their logic to a point of ridiculousness. Subsequent questions in the skit ask if, upon witnessing bullying, you should “offer them a lift home and crash the car,” or if finding broken glass warrants “spill[ing] baby oil around it so someone can fall onto the glass.” The genius lies in the delivery; the creators adopt the flat, instructive tone of a corporate narrator, making the outrageous content even funnier. This trend has exploded because it taps into a deep well of collective recognition.For millions of desk-bound workers, these modules represent a checkbox exercise in corporate compliance that often feels disconnected from the nuanced realities of office politics and mental health. The parodies highlight this disconnect by presenting solutions that are either wildly over-the-top or cynically dismissive, mirroring the secret frustration of employees who must sit through these sessions year after year.Other creators have joined in, skewering specific training tropes. One parodies phishing email training with the options: “A: tell HR, or B: throw out your laptop.” Another, in a video watched over 8. 2 million times, asks viewers to “select the example of harassment” from options including “Jane gives you a high five” and “John runs at you fully erect.” The comment sections on these videos are a testament to their resonance, filled with workers sharing their own tales of tedious trainings and applauding the accuracy of the satire. This phenomenon isn't just a silly internet trend; it's a form of cultural critique born from digital-native cynicism.

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