Is your culture toxic? | One HR practitioner speaks out about needing a 'mouse jiggler'

Having a toxic working environment is likely one of the most overt signals that HR is failing. From a culture of fear, to an overbearing boss or a history of micromanagement, there are many elements that can contribute to ultimately making a company culture toxic. Yet, rarely is such a culture so acutely negative that HR themselves speak out about it.

This is the case in a recent series of TikTok’s produced by an HR manager with the username Taylor.In.HR, which have since gone viral. The user, who claims to be an HR practitioner, shared that their current employer is so inhospitable, that HR itself has taken to using a ‘mouse jiggler’ (otherwise known as a device or software that prevents a mouse from appearing to be stationary) just to stop senior leaders from questioning if they are working.

In the series of posts, the HR manager warned others that needing a ‘mouse jiggler’ is a key sign that a workplace is, in fact, toxic and not to fall into the same trap. “Y’all, if you feel like you need a mouse jiggler so that you don’t get fired because your manager watches your every waking minute on [Microsoft] Teams and makes sure that you’re online non-stop, you might be in a toxic work environment,” they said in the TikTok video.

“Yep. Definitely toxic. The minute I turned yellow I got a phone call asking what I was doing or where I am at even though I’ve always met my metrics,” they stated.