Starbucks Worker Breaks Down After Being Assigned an 8-Hour Shift

A Starbucks employee went viral after sharing a video where they broke down in tears due to being scheduled for an eight-hour shift. Despite Starbucks being the largest coffee chain globally, with nearly 400,000 employees, and research suggesting most are satisfied with their work-life balance, this particular barista, who is also a full-time student, voiced frustrations with management.

They were assigned a 25-hour workweek, including long weekend shifts. The video gained attention when far-right figure Sebastian Gorka shared it on social media, mockingly captioning it with a typo, "Trans Barrister has meltdown because 8 hours is too long to work on a day…"

Gorka's post, criticized for its insensitivity and typo, led to mixed reactions. Some mocked the employee, with one commenter saying, “My husband works 70 hours a week. This kid needs to learn what hard work is.” Another added, “I drove a truck for 35 years, often 12-14 hours a day. Suck it up, buttercup.”

 

However, many others defended the barista, pointing out the challenges of balancing work with full-time studies. One supporter wrote, “They’re allowed to be frustrated. Working a job while being a full-time student is exhausting.” Another explained, “A full-time college student is expected to do 2-3 hours of homework per class hour. So if this student has 15 hours of class, that’s 30 hours of homework plus 25 hours of work—that's a 70-hour week.”

In the viral video, the barista explained that the combination of long shifts and difficult management left them at their "wit’s end," struggling to cope. They expressed frustration with a lack of support from managers, rude customers, and the absence of accommodations for being neurodivergent. They concluded by saying, “I don’t know what to do anymore; I’m at my wit’s end with this job.”