Recently, a former Starbucks barista on TikTok described her employment experience as "lowkey" just "trauma bonding." From dealing with "Karens" to rushing multiple drink orders or receiving requests like a breakfast sandwich as "extra toasted," there's no question that — as previously reported by the Guardian — many Starbucks employees have struggled working in a fast-paced environment that's understaffed while facing verbal abuse from customers. But is that technically "trauma bonding"?
Describing a workplace as "trauma bonding" isn't unique to this one TikTok video. The hashtag #traumabonding on TikTok has 206.2 million views. Another popular TikTok that recently went viral showed Kelly Ripa saying "work friends are crucial for your health," to which a TikTocker interjects and says: "It's called trauma bonding." In the comments section, people note that the "worse the job, the better the friends." Over the last five years, the search term "trauma bonding" has increased steadily in Google searches.
