If you haven’t come across the “Staples Baddie” yet here’s the short version. @blivxx, aka the Staples Baddie, started posting TikTok videos about her day at work. You know, talking about products, specialty services offered, sharing small moments with humor, and her distinctive personality. She wasn’t polished (except for her fabulous nails) and her videos weren’t scripted. Just a day-in-the-life-of a Staples employee and how it is pretty cool.

The result was millions of views, a wave of attention from Gen Z, and a brand that hasn’t exactly been part of the cultural conversation lately suddenly showing up again. This wasn’t a carefully orchestrated employer brand rollout. Just an employee with a phone and an authentic voice. This example isn’t about virality. It’s a reminder to organizations that your employees are already telling your story, whether or not you’ve curated one.

Every organization has an employer brand, whether leadership has defined it or not. It lives in employee group chats, the Glassdoor reviews, social feeds, and the way employees answer the everyday question, “So how’s work?”

The “Staples Baddie” exemplifies a simple truth: if you don’t intentionally create your internal brand, your employees will create one for you. Sometimes that story works in your favor. Sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, it’s happening.

Research consistently shows that employees are one of the most trusted sources of information about a company, far more credible than executives or official messaging. People believe the person on the floor before they believe the person in the press release.

The “Staples Baddie” showcases a reality for employers. Employer brand no longer lives primarily on the careers page. It lives in short-form video, comment sections, private messages, and conversations leaders will never hear directly. Culture doesn’t live in brand guidelines or social media toolkits. It lives in people. And people talk.

You can’t control the employee story. But you can create an environment where the story they tell is one you’re proud to hear.