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MillerKnoll CEO Andi Owen's recent outburst at an internal staff meeting has sparked a viral moment that's made headlines, and not in a positive light. The video clip of Owen's pep talk to motivate the staff to hit a sales target has drawn criticism from the public.
The undated video shows Owen addressing employees' concerns about the potential loss of their bonus. In response, she said they should not "spend their time" worrying about the bonuses they didn't receive and instead concentrate on the money the company actually needed to make.
You can hear what Owen said in the video below.
\u201czoom call from a ceo who cancelled all employee bonuses but took a $6.4 million bonus herself\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
Owen said:
“Don’t ask about ‘What are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus?’ Get the damn $26 million. Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need, and not thinking about what you’re going to do if you don’t get a bonus, all right?” ...
“I had an old boss who said to me one time ‘You can visit Pity City, but ya can’t live there,’” she said, “so people—leave Pity City.”
Owen, who joined MillerKnoll in 2018 after a long career at Gap, describes herself as a "defender of equity and inclusion" on her private Instagram account.
However, her statement has raised questions about her commitment to equity and fairness, particularly as the majority of her pay package is based on incentive-based compensation, like most CEOs. For the fiscal year to May 2022, this amounted to $3.9 million on top of her fixed salary of $1.1 million.
The incident has sparked discussions about the importance of workplace culture and the role of management in motivating employees.
Many people have criticized Owen for her harsh words, saying that they don't create a positive environment that motivates people to work harder.
\u201c@conzmoleman I wonder what her pompous facial expression will turn into when she hears the word \u201cunion\u201d\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman That\u2019s the scheme, get everyone else to break their backs working for less just so the highest up can get more. It should also be noted that not everyone in these high positions have \u201cworked their way up\u201d either.\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman If anything shows that Andi Owen of @HermanMiller is a cretin that doesn't deserve to speak to or be around humans, never mind being even remotely in charge of them, this does.\n\nShe also lies very well on her LinkedIn. She "earned" $1.2m in bonuses last year, equitable my arse.\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman Serious "let them eat cake" vibes here.\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman Isn\u2019t it her job to go find the $26M? \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman "Lead. Lead by example. Treat people well. Talk to them. Be kind."\n\nAnd she does none of this.\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman If you work 45 years from the age of 20 to 65 and make a salary of $142,200 a year the entire time you\u2019d have about what she got as a bonus. Cool, great, super.\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman hello to this person's employees https://t.co/KpBELkCNDJ\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
\u201c@conzmoleman "work hard + you'll be rewarded" is not how wealth works people; it's amassing assets like equities and real estate and also skipping the payroll tax etc -- do you know BONUSES are taxed at a much lower rate, ahem -- gotta keep the riches rich enough to look down on workers\u201d— Warren Commission Test Skull (@Warren Commission Test Skull) 1681699776
The occurrence is in line with recent cases of CEOs who appear to feel entitled behaving insensitively towards their employees.
In late 2021, Better CEO Vishal Garg found himself at the center of controversy after he laid off 900 employees, 9% of the company's workforce, over a Zoom call just one day after receiving a $750 million cash infusion as part of a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
Emails that surfaced at the time show that Garg berated Howard Newman of the investment firm Pine Brook Partners, a top venture capital investor, calling him "sewage" and an "ingrate and a thug and a miserable miser" after plans to take Better public fell apart.
Employees have also criticized Better's toxic work culture, with one former employee saying that Garg, who “leads by fear,” would "threaten employees to work harder, faster and not be lazy, but there was never clarity on what the consequences might be.”