‘Stop thinking about what you’re going to do if we don’t get a bonus!’
A boss on multi-million dollar salary is facing a backlash after she told staff worried about bonuses to “leave Pity City.”
Andi Owen, the CEO of office furniture company MillerKnoll, addressed her employees on a call last month when they asked if they would be getting any bonueses.
Although she seems to start off pretty calmly, Owen becomes increasingly irate with the attitude of her workers.
At the end of the 75-minute ‘town hall’ meeting, Owen addressed concerns from workers who asked how they were expected to remain motivated when their bonuses were being cancelled.
She started off by saying that “the most important thing we can do right now is focus on the things we can control”, such as “providing the best customer service we can” and “treating each other well,” “being kind”, and “getting our orders out the door.”
She goes on to mention the impact Covid and other ‘unpredictable’ factors had on the company.
“It’s not good to be in the situation we’re in today, but we’re not going to be here forever. It is going to get better, so lead by example, treat people well, talk to them, be kind, and get after it,” she continued.
She assured the situation for the company would “get better” and encouraged staff to “lead by example” and “treat each other well.”
But her tone seemed to change pretty abruptly as she told her staff to stop asking “what are we going to do if you don’t get a bonus?”, before telling them to “get the damn $26 million!”
The $26 million is believed to be an internal metric at MillerKnoll.
She became increasingly angry as she told them to “spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need and not thinking about what you’re going to do if we don’t get a bonus!”
She finished by saying: “I had an old boss who said to me one time ‘you can visit Pity City but you can’t live there!’ So people, leave Pity City and get it done!
“Thank you, have a great day.”
The call has since gone viral online, with one clip shared on Twitter having been viewed more than 9 million times.
Owen has been criticised for her tone and words.
One person labelled it the “least motivational speech from management I’ve ever seen”, with another highlighting the irony of her “very predictable” bonus.
Company filings show that for the fiscal year ending in May 2022, Owen made $3.9 million in bonuses on top of her $1.1m salary.
Following the backlash, a spokesperson for MillerKnoll told CNN the clip did not show the full context of the meeting.
“Andi fiercely believes in this team and all we can accomplish together, and will not be dissuaded by a 90-second clip taken out of context and posted on social media,” read a statement from them.
Related links:
Boss uses coffee test in every interview and won’t employ those who fail
Bartender sends boss brutal three-word response after 3am text
Tesco employees receive ‘Quality Street tubs instead of Christmas bonus’
