2 weeks ago
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Jamie Lynch is racking up hundreds of thousands of followers on social media thanks to her hilarious (and terrifyingly accurate) skits playing a millennial manager to Gen Z and Boomer employees. We got to speak with her as part of Dexerto’s new Rising Stars interview series, where she let us in on the inspiration for her viral skits and how she comes up with her recurring cast of characters.
You may have seen one of Jamie’s skits scrolling through your recommended posts on Twitter or your For You Page on TikTok; Jamie, a millennial manager, sits at her desk absently munching on snacks while asking her employees to carry out mundane work-related tasks over the phone.
These situations almost always devolve into a humorous commentary on the differences between millennial and Gen Z culture. For instance, Lenora, one of Jamie’s Gen Z employees, refuses to “swing by the office” to physically sign a document, explaining that she’d prefer to simply use software to give a digital signature — something Jamie can’t seem to comprehend.
On the other hand, Jamie seems shocked when Lenora calls in on her day off to ask for babysitting advice. It quickly becomes clear that Lenora has no clue what she’s doing as she says she’d “rather not touch” the infant she’s watching “if possible,” highlighting the striking difference in common knowledge and attitudes between the two generations.
This dissonance, which Jamie experienced during her own decade-long career as a manager, inspired her to start creating her skits and posting them online, drawing millions of eyeballs and oodles of comments sympathizing with her characters’ struggles and mindsets.
“[The skits] came from a very natural spot,” she told us. “A lot of them are based on real conversations. I think the first one that sparked it was when someone called in dead, and I was like, ‘You’re dead? Well, get your shoots covered.’ And they’re like, ‘No, no, I’ll work. I’m just dead.’
“I was like, ‘You guys say the craziest things. I’m gonna start recording these.’ And everyone was down for it. And the internet liked them. Over the last few years, Gen Z’s have kind of come into the workforce full force, and it’s just made for some really interesting conversations.”
The discussions featured in Jamie’s videos are often held over Zoom or on phone calls, leading some viewers to speculate that her skits are actually real. While they’re certainly inspired by genuine moments she’s actually had with employees in the past, the cast of characters in her uploads are not her actual coworkers, although they do work together for videos.
Jamie says that she eventually had to change the actors’ names due to the brutal nature of social media, but over time, these characters have taken on a life of their own.
“From there, the characters kind of built themselves,” she revealed. “Because at first, they were doing different things, and they weren’t sticking to the same name every time, but then they just kind of got in the groove of it. And now, they are these characters.”
Jamie believes that the relatable nature of her content is what makes it so popular for audiences across generations. Her comments are filled with viewers sharing their own stories about working with employees in different age brackets or debating the merits of the characters’ attitudes toward the workplace.
“I get so many DMs and messages. You can see in the comments where people are like, ‘This is my life. This is my day every day.’ I think it’s because people find it relatable, and everyone loves that sort of relatable content.
“I’ve always loved the generational sort of videos. In the past, I used to do ‘Gen Z’s roasting Millennials.‘ I used to just love when they would roast us for everything. They were so spot-on about us, and I just found it so funny.
“I think it’s something to be embraced, the differences and generations, and people just really love it. I think Gen Z’s brought this new character to the game where they’ve unlocked this level of craziness that people aren’t used to, so it’s very entertaining.”
Jamie’s videos open up the discourse surrounding the attitudes of different generations in the workplace. Gen Z, for example, has become famous for the ‘quiet quitting’ trend and refusing to work under adverse conditions (i.e. being asked to work overtime without pay, etc.). Jamie herself is a big fan of Gen Z, saying that their strict boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance are admirable.
“I think the most interesting thing about the Gen Z’s is that they have these boundaries,” she explained. “It is annoying in some cases where they don’t show up if they’re not feeling it, and if they don’t want to work, they just won’t.
“I think older generations kind of hate on it because they’re enamored by it. They love the idea that you can do that. I do work with older people, as well. When it comes to the technology part, it is kind of stereotypical that the older people are not a fan of these new apps and all the ‘internet stuff,’ as one of them calls it. And then the younger people are just a little more tech-savvy, which is really nice, because a lot of things are headed in that direction.”
Jamie hasn’t been in the internet’s spotlight for very long. In fact, she skyrocketed to 383,000 Instagram followers in mere months, starting in April 2024. As of October, she’s got a combined total of half a million followers across her TikTok, YouTube, and Insta accounts — and the suddenness of it all has left her with a little whiplash.
“Since that first video was posted, I’ll have a new notification every minute, any time of day,” she told us. “It’s definitely happened fast, and I do get recognized out in public, which is nice. I don’t think everyone feels this way, but I love my followers. They’re so good. We engage so much, and they’re really great.
“But the negative comments and stuff — you think you’re ready for it. You’re like, ‘I’ve got viral videos, negative comments will come.’ They do suck to read. I’m good at ignoring them, but sometimes you get these really rude comments. I’ll go and look at their profile, and it’s like a yoga mom from Tennessee. It’s crazy. It makes sense when it’s some weird troll guy without a profile picture, but when it’s real people hating on you, that’s kind of [hurtful].
“But overall, it’s been really good. I’ve had really good feedback, and even my followers, who are the greatest people, will make negative comments. A lot of the times, my followers will comment on those and use the door and arrow emojis to say, ‘Just leave if you’re not happy.'”
Jamie’s sudden shot to internet fame has opened up a slew of opportunities for her, including nabbing sponsorships from major companies like Flipz and even scoring a potential show. While influencing is now her full-time job, she’s currently working with a production company to pursue her ultimate dream of being a comedy writer.
“We’re getting everything finalized, but I’m actually working with a production company,” she revealed. “They reached out a couple months ago and have been finalizing stuff, but we’re going to try to make the channel into a show, so I’ve been focusing on that. It’s really exciting, because only like one in a thousand shows get made.”
Jamie has a colorful history of past employment, having gone to school for chemical engineering technology before the oil and gas industry crashed. Since then, she’s been a wine sommelier, a general manager at fine dining restaurants, and even worked in HR at a hospital.
All these experiences shaped Jamie’s content, which, in turn, has opened doors for her to finally achieve her “dream job.” After working hard for so many years, she says her current success is a “nice change to be able to be creative for the first time” — and there’s still so much in store.
English (US) ·