According to research by Clutch, 94% of employees feel that fair treatment by employers is the most important workplace value.
Too often, however, employers get caught up with operations and profitability, causing them to lose sight of the need to treat all employees fairly.
Recent HR scandals at 3 companies in particular illustrate the need for businesses to emphasize employee wellness:
- Uber
- Away Travel.
In this article, we demonstrate how recent scandals at these 3 companies emphasize the need for creating a healthy, consistent, and fair workplace culture.
Uber Bathroom Scandal Highlights the Importance of Fair Treatment in the Workplace
For example, one Uber satellite office set up separate bathrooms for Uber employees and Uber drivers, only a few feet away from each other.
Uber driver Erika Bettes took a photo of the bathroom signs and shared it on social media, posing the question, “Anyone else think it’s strange that Uber views partners & employees as two separate classes of people?”
Source: Twitter
Social media users were turned off by the image of separate bathrooms, which inspired passionate responses from Uber drivers and customers alike.
As one Twitter user put it, “Wow, they don’t trust them in the same bathroom but I as a woman am supposed to get in a car & go for a ride with a stranger 🤔”
Others didn’t miss the racial and class implications of separate bathrooms, revealing that most Uber engineers are white, and many drivers are immigrants or people of color.
Many readers could not help drawing parallels from the segregated bathrooms of decades past.
Uber’s bathroom scandal proves that businesses shouldn’t wait around for employees to complain about unfair workplace treatment.
Setting an example, monitoring the workplace, and continually training management in fair workplace practices is essential to building an environment of respect and equality.
Google Scandals Show the Consequences Going Against Your Company's Values
In the early days of Google, the company rose to wealth with phrases such as “open company culture” and “transparency.”
The media portrayed Google as a game-changing brand that championed the values of respect and equality, and the world embraced its good intentions.
Google’s reputation began falling from grace a few years ago, though, when more than 20,000 Google employees staged a #MeToo walkout over the company’s silencing of sexual harassment issues in the workplace.
Dozens of Google employees later claimed they suffered harassment and retaliation reporting the workplace issues.
Eventually, prompted by formal complaints, government regulators had to order Google to assure its employees of their right to free speech.
Google’s scandals prove that it’s essential to listen to your employee’s concerns with empathy, and praise employees for coming to management with their complaints.
Away Travel Scandal Reveals The Importance of a Healthy Work Culture
Luggage company Away Travel built its brand image on ideals of cultural travel, exploration, and peaceful living.
Away’s “Our Story” page touts “access over aspiration,” making a difference through “the community we create,” and a partnership with Peace Direct, an organization committed to building peace in conflict zones around the world.
Images of zen-like models fill the pages of its website, and Away’s team members are pictured in various locations around the world, mostly in zen-like poses.
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Recent headlines, however, portray a shocking contrast to the peaceful image the company works so hard to maintain.
Several Away Travel employees came forward to expose a verbally-abusive CEO who made a habit of silencing employees.
Other workers complained of an image-obsessed, cut-throat work culture that demanded long hours and 24/7 instant availability.
The long hours and high pressure of startup environments lend themselves to negative work environments. Yet, today’s employees value their mental health and work-life balance more than ever.
Companies must respect the mental and physical health needs of employees, as these are critical to the long-term success, and profits, of any brand.
Scandals Prove That Brand Values Must Align With Reality
Thanks to digital communication, employees now have the power to band together and even enlist the help of the public through the press or social media, to help improve their working conditions.
Companies wanting to build and maintain a healthy company culture should encourage employees to express their opinions, and work toward creating a harmonious work culture from within.
Latest posts by Riley Panko (see all)
- What Businesses Can Learn From 3 Recent HR Scandals - February 25, 2020
