workplace culture
Shifting Gears on
Cultural Risk
UBER FACED DAMAGING BACKLASH FOR AN ALLEGED “TOXIC”
CULTURE. HOW CAN HR STEER CLEAR OF CULTURE SCANDALS?
By Sarah Andresen Mr Doomits/Shutterstock.com
The last six months have seen Canadian culture publical-ly
lauded around the globe for its inclusivity, positivity
and diversity. It’s no wonder, then, that consumers, pol-iticians
and businesses alike have mixed opinions about
Uber across the country, particularly given the latest in a string of
scandals which hit headlines earlier this year.
Former engineer Susan Fowler’s blog post that recounted her
experience working at the company went viral around the world.
In the post, which first appeared on Feb. 19, she described a list
of worrying incidents, including sexual harassment, threatening
behaviour, discrimination and a mass exodus of women on her
team. In a world where reputation is linked directly to share price
and the fight for talent is cut-throat, this is the stuff of corporate
nightmares.
Fowler called out the behaviour of her management team, but,
even more importantly, she alleged similar poor behaviour from
the HR team, which should be the ethical safeguard for all em-ployees
in such situations. The Uber HR team came away from
the incident looking disorganized and even threatening. Uber
responded quickly with internal meetings and hiring former
Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate, but frustrated em-ployees
continue to vent across social media channels.
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ APRIL 2017 ❚ 39