ICYMI: Donnalyn Bartolome is in hot waters with netizens once again after one of her Facebook posts went viral. In it, she questioned why people are "sad" to be back at work once again after the holidays. According to her, they should be "happy" they have a chance to make their and their family's lives better.
"Bakit may sad dahil back to work na? Diba dapat mas masaya ka kasi may chance ka na pagandahin buhay mo at ng pamilya [mo]?," she wrote.
She added: "Trip ko pa nga pag may work ng January 1 dahil superstition ko may work ako buong taon pag ganun."
She also noted that if the people's work makes them unhappy, she hopes they find a job that will fulfill them and "na pakikiligin ka."
"Anyway, this is just a reminder that having a job is a blessing bessss change mindset, it's 2023!!" she concluded.
It should be noted that a previously edited version of Donnalyn's post stated: "Dapat grateful kasi may work. Mahiya tayo sa mga walang trabaho."
The vlogger's post caused mixed reactions among netizens. On one side of the coin, people thanked her for motivating them to continue working. They also thanked her for reminding them that they're lucky to have a job in this day and age.
On the other hand, netizens called Donnalyn out for "still being out-of-touch" in 2023 and advised her to check her privilege. They also noted that as an influencer, she needs to be more careful about what she posts online, saying that posts like these encourage Pinoys to put up with workplace injustices and inherit a toxic positivity mindset.
They also reminded her not to invalidate other people's feelings, explaining that feeling sad and tired from work does not equate to being ungrateful.
They also shot back and said that if they had Donnalyn's job and compensation, they would also feel "lucky."
As of this writing, Donnalyn's post is still up. Though she has not issued an *official* response about all the backlash, she did reply to one netizen who challenged her to work outside the Philippines to see if she would still hold the same sentiment.
"Malayo po ako sa family ko kakatrabaho sa pinas, mag10yrs na. Parang OFW situation. Minsan ko lang sila nakikita.. umaabot years and years. Kaya naman men.. mahirap lang," she replied.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!
This story originally appeared on Candymag.com.
* Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.