An insurance salesman has become an internet hit after filming himself calling out his manager during a work meeting. Elijah Goodman posted the video to TikTok under the username @elijahgoodman1, where it quickly got over 3.4 million views in just two days.
The TikTok video shows Goodman sitting in an office with his phone in his lap, secretly recording as his manager went after him for his recent sales numbers. When she told him his numbers over the past several weeks had been disappointing at best, Goodman said he had a tough time for the past two weeks but argued that his year overall had been great. The manager said no, which led Goodman to fight back.
He asked his manager if she remembered when she worked in sales and how bad she was at it. Goodman asked how she got promoted to sales manager even though she couldn’t sell anything herself. When the manager asked if he was delusional, Goodman said no and that he had seen the numbers. The fight ended with the manager telling him to leave.
In a follow-up video, Goodman said his bosses saw the clip and demanded he post a public apology video. Instead, he did the opposite, telling his sales manager Bridget, “You suck at your job. You don’t deserve the job you have, and the fact that you’re making me publicly apologize for sucking at your job is ridiculous.”
People online support the salesman
The response to Goodman’s videos has been very positive. Viewers loved that he stood up to his manager, with many wondering if the video was real or fake. One person said that being told to leave meant Goodman had won the fight. Another called him a legend if the video was real.
People working in sales seemed to really believe the situation could happen. One user shared a common saying in the business that those who can sell do sell, while those who can’t end up in management. The video moved beyond TikTok to other social media sites, where it got similar reactions. Just like another viral workplace fight where a man exposed his manager’s secrets after getting fired, Goodman’s video connected with viewers who have dealt with bad bosses.
The best response came from Farmers Insurance Chicago, which left a comment on Goodman’s video saying they were hiring. The job offer from another insurance company shows that Goodman’s fight may have actually helped his career instead of hurting it. Real or fake, the video clearly hit home with workers who have dealt with bad managers and tapped into the common dream of finally speaking up to a toxic boss. Like other cases where employees have been fired and responded by going viral, this story shows the growing trend of workplace fights playing out on social media. The video keeps spreading online, starting talks about workplace behavior and toxic management in sales jobs.
