Recently on Twitter, a couple of screenshots between a boss and an intern has gone viral with more than 6 million views.
The Twitter thread was posted by Zizan Nin, 49, who is an actor, director, producer and company owner.
pening, upset & simpati pun ada dgn intern aku ni, bila aku suruh email tu..i'd expect to see a proper communication lah..aiyooo..apa yg dorang ni belajar eh? we were trained to write those dys, skrg ni senang.. google je..mcm2 template muncul #communication #commonsense pic.twitter.com/c7zGXIj2Oy
— Z I Z A N N I N (@zizannin) May 12, 2023
In the screenshots, he was seen talking to an intern who requested leave on a Friday. Without asking much, he approved it and asked for the intern to send an email to him and CC it to the relevant departments so that they are aware.
He repeated this twice and when Zizan received the email, he was quite disappointed to get a one-liner from the intern.
The title said, “leave application for Friday, 12 May 2023” and in the body, “I will come back to work on Monday, 15 May 2023.”
The employer expressed in the caption that he felt upset and sympathy towards the intern: “When I asked for an e-mail, I expected proper communication. What are they learning nowadays? And there are templates out there, just Google it.”
Naturally, netizens had a lot to say about this and they were divided. Some say that Zizan was in the wrong for making the screenshots go viral.
“He is an intern, guide him. Not screenshot and show the whole world,” remarked one particular netizen.
Another said: “Don’t you have a proper form like a Google form or online form? I think email to apply for leave is outdated.”
For illustration purposes only.
Others shared similar experiences in their workplace.
“Sometimes even those who are not interns do the same. When the boss asks them to send letters to HR, we want to cry when reading them. There are no introductions, they use short forms in formal letters and there are spelling mistakes. Don’t even talk about format,” said one netizen.
“For those who said that he is an intern and should be taught, yes that is another issue. However, what he wanted to deliver was a way to communicate well. In school, you learn how to write letters and in uni, you learn how to write and reply to emails and set the tone,” added another netizen.
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Zizan said that he posted those screenshots on Twitter in an effort to share, create awareness and learn, not to shame the intern (hence why he pixelated anything that could lead to his identity being exposed).
“My aim for asking him to write an email is for him to communicate properly and through the right channels, to polish his writing skills and to understand the office system.”
He added that after the intern who has been with them for 5 months had sent the email, he guided him on how to write a proper one.
For illustration purposes only.
The producer clarified that his company accepts interns for CSR and the placements are done by the university. They do expect that the interns might make mistakes so, they have briefings on Day 1 about the proper channel to do things, the roles of the admins, HR, supervisors and all the work.
As this debate had blown up, Zizan who was called terrible names asks the netizens to treat this as a case study where they debate, discuss and share ideas openly.
“There is no need for harsh words or name-calling as we are all professionals here. Please be ethical and give constructive criticism.”
What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: “Ok bye thank you” – M’sian Applies For Job in an Informal & Unprofessional Way
