The publication of Francisco Sancheza Mexican manager in the logistics sector, went viral on LinkedIn after he recounted a critical episode: “I stopped breathing for 6 minutes in that hospital. When I woke up 4 days later, the first thing I asked for was my laptop”.
His intention seemed to be a recognition of his team, although the reaction of the professional network took another direction.
In his story, he explained that his priority was to check if the shipments were still in order. Despite the scenario he imagined—“Annoying customers,” “Missed dates,” “Total chaos”—he assured that everything was under control. He highlighted three emails that moved him: “How are YOU?”, “Your health comes first. Boarding can wait” and “Do you need something? Anything.”
Sánchez closed with a reflection on his career: “For 20 years I treated their burden as if it were the most important thing in the world. That day, they took care of me.” And he finished with a principle that, according to him, defines his industry: “My best asset was never my rates. It was the trust I built when no one was looking.”
But the conversation that emerged online did not revolve around team loyalty, but rather what many interpreted as a worrying symptom of work culture.
The most prominent comments agreed that the anecdote did not sound inspiring, but rather alarming. One of the users wrote: “And if you were dead now, no one would have cared, valuing your health more than work is important”. Another was direct: “If the first thing you did when you woke up was think about your work. You have a lot to reflect on.”
There were those who questioned the emotional background of the story: “It’s sad that you put work first, when your recovery and health should come first.” The decision to make it public was also criticized: “Why document it? I think it’s something very private and I also don’t think your company will give you a bonus for that.”
Taken together, the comments posed a counterbalance: rather than an example of leadership, some saw a case of normalized extreme burnout.
The conversation transcended to X, where the account It’s from Mamadores took up the case and triggered a broader analysis of the platform. Among the reactions, there were those who declared: “LinkedIn is an inexhaustible source of suckers” and those who criticized the site’s aspirational culture: “It was a frivolous network full of narcissists where everyone boasts about lives, achievements and stories they don’t have.”
Other users expanded their criticism of the style of content that dominates the network: “Invented stories to get likes and content that contributes little or nothing.” Nostalgia for the early years of LinkedIn also appeared: “Before it was a ‘direct and to the point’ platform… Now it is the social network of the dragged and mama***** telling copied stories like this one.”
The case opened a broader debate: To what extent have professional networks adopted the emotional and performative dynamics of the rest of the platforms? And why did a testimony designed to inspire end up provoking a collective reflection on work obsession and digital authenticity?
The truth is that Sánchez’s story not only talked about logistics, work and resilience; ended up exposing the current tensions between well-being, productivity and the constant need to narrate an epic version of professional life.
