‘The person that gave you the gift went straight to HR’: Office worker gets fired over his Secret Santa. Here’s why


A man shared a story about how he was fired from his job after the company saw his Secret Santa TikTok video.

The videos featured TikTok user Jeff (@hittaa_jeff), who recently participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange at his job. It appears this all started because Jeff took issue with the gift he received in the exchange and posted his dissatisfaction in a now-deleted TikTok video. In a second video, Jeff says he didn’t open the gift at work, which turned out to be a Christmas lantern, because he is suspicious of the co-worker who gifted it. “i dont trust vegans,” Jeff wrote in the caption.

@hittaa_jeff Replying to @Marlyna Soto i dont trust vegans #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – HughHefnerSon

Apparently, the videos made the internet rounds and got back to Jeff’s Secret Santa. The co-worker texted Jeff to say he could have told her if he didn’t like the gift. “Your secret Santa here just wanted to let you know I came across your TikTok about the gift I gave you. If you weren’t satisfied with you gift you could’ve said that. If you don’t like the lantern PLEASE DONT THROW AWAY my grandma gave it to me before she passed it’s collectible.”

Jeff did not appreciate the note. He replied, “If the limit on the flyer received said a min of $60 and no items from your home why would you do the opposite?” The co-worker responded that she would not be speaking to Jeff at work anymore and evidently blocked Jeff’s number so he couldn’t reply further.

@hittaa_jeff #greenscreen If you watching this one GIRL IDK YOU & you can come pick this mf up since you blocked me 💯 #fyp #foryou #secretsanta #fooled #foryoupage #christmas2023 #explorepage ♬ FTCU – Nicki Minaj

So when he showed up to work a couple of days later, Jeff was called into the supervisor’s office. In the meeting, the supervisor took Jeff’s time card, key to the building, and fired him. Jeff said the supervisor cited his tardiness as a reason. Although Jeff acknowledged he had been late to work twice, he said one of the instances occurred when he had picked up a shift and the other time he arrived only nine minutes late.

To make matters worse, the supervisor told the employees not to let Jeff inside to retrieve his belongings. The content creator was able to get inside after the supervisor let one of the other employees in. As Jeff departed, his supervisor said, “The company saw your TikTok about your Secret Santa present.” 

Jeff was amazed he was terminated over the video. “She brought me some sh*t from her house that she probably made,” he stated. “Because somebody didn’t follow the Secret Santa guidelines.” Then, he unveiled the gift in question: A Christmas lantern that he said smelled of cigarettes.

@hittaa_jeff Surprise surprise 😂😂 im mad ash 🤣ian trippin tho ian do nun wrong #fyp #foryoupage #christmas2023 #secretsanta #foryou #yourfired #cheapgift #explorepage ♬ original sound – HughHefnerSon

The Daily Dot reached out to @hittaa_jeff via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment. The video amassed 1.5 million views. In the comments, viewers guessed what happened behind the scenes.

“The person that gave you the gift went straight to HR,” one viewer wrote.

“take the gift back up there and tell her give you yours back,” a second user joked.

A third user observed, “I’m fairly new there… I was late yesterday and I was late today … yea your termination had nothing to do with secret Santa.”

Some users suggested taking legal action against the employer.

“Sir, EEOC. You need to be in their office IMMEDIATELY!” one user urged.

“Straight to HR cause they need to give you warnings and write ups first,” a second advised.

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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/fired-over-secret-santa/