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A job candidate took to the popular Reddit forum "Antiwork" to share their experience with an interview that took a turn because they chose to wear a mask.
"Interviewer laughed when I told him I'd rather leave mask on during interview, saying 'pandemic is over,'" read the title of u/Enchilada_Lover's post, which amassed more than 13,000 votes since it was posted on Sunday. You can read the full post here.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Omicron is the most dominant variant of COVID-19, and there are three common lineages of it.
The agency reported that vaccines and masks are among the best forms of protection against the virus.
While there are cases of breakthrough infections, the CDC said vaccines protect against severe illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.
"People who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines and get COVID-19 are less likely to develop serious illness than those who are unvaccinated and get COVID-19," the agency said.
The CDC also said that masks help prevent the spread of the virus, and outlined different community levels to help someone decide what prevention measures to take.
"I live with my dad who is immunocompromised," u/Enchilada_Lover wrote. "Anything to keep myself from getting sick and passing it on to him (it was [an] N95 mask)."
They wrote that they believed they should have walked out of the interview once the interviewer laughed at them but felt strongly that they should wear the mask during the interview.
In an update, u/Enchilada_Lover wrote that they knew they were not going to get the job, but they felt good to "waste his time."
Fellow Reddit users rushed to the comments section to share their opinion on the interview.
"Should've replied with you have covid and that you're so thankful that you can remove your mask," a top comment read. "Watch that smile fade from his face."
"Literally: why do they even give a f**k?!" a Reddit user asked. "Why are people so desperate to force people to not wear a mask?"
"F**k that guy I was pretty damn healthy pre-COVID and now I've got long haul COVID with lung and liver damage," another comment read. "Keep you and your dad safe."
One wrote that they are the only employee who continues to wear a mask and experienced COVID for the first time about a month ago.
"The pandemic is not over just because we are going back to 'normal,'" they wrote. "People are still very much getting sick."
u/Enchilada_Lover wrote to Newsweek that the entire interview lasted about 15 minutes, but this was the only interview they felt uncomfortable for choosing to wear a face mask.
They noted that they have not been diagnosed with COVID-19, but many people they know have gone through it.
u/Enchilada_Lover said they are aware that there is always a risk of having a breakthrough case, but it is worthwhile wearing a mask and getting vaccinated.
"You can wear a seatbelt and still die in a car accident," they said. "The whole point is risk mitigation, lowering the chances to a point where you won't face serious consequences."
Other posts that have been shared on the forum "Antiwork" have previously gone viral.
A man shared a post in which he was praised for declining to accept a job offer with a company that reduced the initial agreed-upon starting salary.
One woman was backed for quitting her job after she received an unsympathetic response from her boss as it had to do with the death of her family dog.
Another employee shared that he decided to quit after his boss refused to give him a raise, claiming it would be unfair to his coworkers.
Update: 07/18/22 3:39 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from u/Enchilada_Lover.
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more