Building a following is one thing, but letting someone have access to it is another.

So, what would you do if your boss noticed you had a large following on two social media platforms and wanted you to use them to market the company? Would you do it to help your job? Or would you draw a line between your personal and professional lives?

In the following story, one employee finds himself in this situation and refuses to give in. Here’s what’s going on.

AITAH for refusing to promote my job’s company on social media?

I (27m) work for a startup company that’s looking for participants for our online programs, and I’m one of the hosts responsible for running them.

In one of my team meetings, my boss (45f) pointed out how she discovered my Instagram & TikTok accounts and that I have a lot (not really, but still a big-ish number) of followers on both platforms (35,000 on IG & 22,000 on TikTok).

The videos and content I post are not related to my job at all, and I want to keep my work life separate from my online business.

Everyone tried to convince him.

My boss said, “OP, you should make videos and post about us to get your followers to join and participate in our programs. We could really use the exposure, and your audience would be a big help.”

I responded with, “I don’t think that’s how it works. I want to keep my work life separate from this, and even if I did make that video, it would feel wrong for me to be promoting something completely unrelated to the regular content they expect to see from me.”

My boss got really upset and said I’m not being a team player, and that it would be such a waste to miss out on that potential.

My co-workers tried to convince me by saying, “Maybe we can find a way to merge the two ideas together so that your followers don’t lose sight of your identity, but still participate because they like and care about you as a person.”

The whole thing just feels wrong to him.

I stood my ground and said that the idea was cringe and I won’t do it. The meeting ended with everyone being upset at everyone, and the marketing team feeling defeated.

In my opinion, there’s more meaning behind those big numbers on the screen.

In my eyes, it’s like walking into a sushi restaurant because I want sushi, but when I sit down and read the menu, there’s no sushi to order, just a brochure of an unknown insurance company trying to reach me about my car’s extended warranty. That sounds ridiculous, but that’s what the whole conversation felt like to me.

AITA?

Eek! This sounds like a very awkward situation to put someone in.

Let’s see what the people over at Reddit think about what the company did to this guy.

This person thinks it would be okay if they paid him for it.

Here’s someone who turned it around on their company.

Interesting point that should be considered.

According to this comment, it’s his account.

There’s no end to this once he starts, so refusing is the best thing he can do.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.