In one of his TikTok videos, Berto Berioso dances the Tinikling during his rest day to the sound of his boss' phone call, raking in over three million views for poking fun at the work-life balance struggle millennials and Gen Zs face as the workplace slowly transitions to the office from their homes.
From swaying his hips violently to show how much he deserves a "performance-based increase" to his daily reminders that adding to cart comes at the cost of corporate slavery, Berioso's #OfficeSerye TikTok videos with its 192,000-strong followers is a mirror of work culture during the pandemic.
In the two years since the pandemic started, the 26-year-old has found a voice on TikTok, a new job at Shopee all while remaining on the good side of his former boss at TV station GNN, who was fully supportive of #OfficeSerye.
"Feeling ko kasi nakaka-relate yung mga tao tapos pangalawa, natatawa sila. Nakaka-relate sila kasi 'yung mga videos ko pinapakita 'yung mga hindi nila masabi sa boss o nararamdaman nila sa office nila," he told reportr in an interview.
@bertoberioso It’s my rest day, Sir! #OfficeSerye ? original sound - bigkidproblems
The 26-year-old marketing professional mixes fun and sarcasm to portray typical office scenes and officemate stereotypes, showing how regardless of the industry and profession, working Filipinos face similar issues.
"Halo-halo din siya eh. Based sa personal experience 'yung iba. Mayroon naman, based 'yun sa mga kuwento, sa mga nakikita ko, sa mga naririnig ko," Berioso said of his videos.
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'Slice of reality'
Bored in quarantine after getting sick with COVID-19 last year, Berioso said he started #OfficeSerye on TikTok after seeing a video that showed the different types of classmates in schools.
"Naisip ko, what if gumawa din ako ng iba't-ibang klase ng officemates kapag dumadating ng office? Tapos hindi ko talaga inexpect na medyo mag-viral siya and ayun na, nagtuloy-tuloy na siya," he said.
@bertoberioso Miss mo na ba yung office setup? Sino ka sa kanila? #tiktokph #tiktokphilippines #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ? original sound - Jay-Ar Berioso - Berto Berioso || OfficeSerye
For Berioso, relatability is the secret to his #OfficeSerye Tiktok videos, saying he makes sure to portray the reality of office life, although a bit exaggerated.
"Ine-exaggerate ko lang tapos gawin kong comedy para hindi siya toxic na atake. 'Yun naman kasi yung nararamdaman talaga ng tao and gusto ko 'pag gagawa ako ng content, slice of reality talaga," he said.
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Berioso said he was lucky to have a boss and officemates at GNN, who were very supportive of his #OfficeSerye videos since these started in 2021.
"In fairness doon sa boss ko dati, support siya doon sa ginagawa ko. Nakakapag-content ako sa office, shoot sa office. Minsan sa kanila na din ako nagpapa-approve kung okay ba o nakakatawa ba yung content ko," he said.
@bertoberioso Thank you for the six years, GNN family! #OfficeSerye ? Clap Snap - NanayMitchay?
Staying in the office
Unlike other content creators who resigned from their day jobs after soaring to fame with TikTok, Berioso said he doesn't see himself quitting office life anytime soon to become a full-time content creator.
Berioso recently transferred to Shopee Philippines in March, working as part of the online shopping platform's marketing team. TikTok users can also see him on Shopee's TikTok account.
"For me, mabilis lahat sa social media lalo na sa TikTok. Ang bilis ng opportunity, maaari mabilis din mawala, kaya for me, hindi siya permanent eh. Gusto ko pa rin magtrabaho, magtayo ng business if ever," he said.
@bertoberioso Performance based #OfficeSerye #fyp ? original sound - ustPRIME
With content creation playing a huge part in his day job and for his personal #OfficeSerye, Berioso has the following tips for aspiring content creators:
1. Start now
Just do your thing. Berioso advises aspiring content creators not to get intimidated by views and likes when starting out and just start.
"Huwag kang matakot na kaunti lang 'yung views mo, 'yung likes mo o 'yung shares, kasi hangga't mayroon number of views na andiyan, may mga taong nakaka-relate sayo, nakakapaghatid ka ng message" he said.
2. Be natural
People enjoy relatable and natural content so Berioso advises aspiring content creators to be themselves.
"Maging natural ka lang...Ang important may maka-relate at makapaghatid ka ng saya sa kanila," he said.
3. Just keep going
Just keep creating content and don't get disheartened with views and likes.
"Huwag ka lang titigil. Just keep doing content. Ituloy-tuloy mo lang 'yan," he said.
And for Berioso, when it comes to content creation, he's more than fulfilled and happy doing videos that make people laugh--viral or not.
"Mag-hit man siya o hindi, basta may mapasaya ako, okay na ako," he said.
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