Hold on tight, folks. This is a long and crazy Korean company drama,
For my sake, I will not reveal the company's name and will use fake names.
So we had our new CEO transfer from Korea about 4-6 months ago. Before he came to America, some employees had bad feelings since we heard so many stories about our new CEO, including the fact that he said all of us at the American branch were lazy and got paid way too much. It's funny now I think about it because I thought this was my biggest issue with this CEO.
The Beginning
It started when he announced that he was bringing a logistic manager named Maya, who he had worked with, to join us for training for 3 months. I did not overthink it because a new CEO meant a different policy and many other “new” things. Later, we learned from Wayne from accounting that she would be a permanent member, and he had set aside funds for her visa. This was not a big issue for me, but I needed clarification about why he would lie. Little did I know this was the beginning of his Madness.
The Great Exodus
Sabrina,
She quit before the CEO even arrived. She had dealings with him before and decided to leave this company before Madness began. An additional note: Maya replaced her.
Wayne,
The CEO was really harsh on him and always told him he was not good at this job during meetings in front of people. We still don't know why the CEO thought Wayne was not good at his job, but Wayne suspected he was being managed out because he knew too much about the CEO and his shady activities. (I did not ask him the details of it; all I know was that the CEO was doing something a CEO should not do)
Abby,
Unfortunately, I do not know much about Abby's issue, but I only know that the CEO told Abby that she was not good at her job and that the CEO lectured her about how she should do her job in every meeting and told her she was doing it all wrong. Mind you, Abby has a decent amount of experience in marketing, while the CEO originally came from and only knows the Logistics.
Jocelyn
The nicest person I know. She was on maternity leave when the CEO came to America, but she heard all the horror stories about the CEO before she came back. She was always optimistic until the CEO started his usual “you are not good at your job,” and from what I know, he even yelled at Jocelyn. Very unprofessional. So she decided to give two weeks' notice, but the CEO was being his usual self and started screaming, so she told the CEO what she wanted to say and walked out that day.
Sarah
Sarah was next, but she did not quit; she was fired. She wanted to use her PTO/Sick Day one day and told the new Account manager, Ginger. The next day, when Sarah came back, she was called to the CEO's office and told that she was being fired because she did not feel sorry for the company when she decided to take her day off…
Emma
She quit when Sarah was fired. I think she did what everyone wanted to do, she walked up to CEO said the firing was unjustified and walked out.
Now, you might think that's not too many people, but give or take, we had 10-13 people working at this company, so half of the employees left within 4 months of this new CEO.
Hypocrisy and the Civil War
So, remember I mentioned that the CEO started his tour of destruction by telling us we get paid too much? Well, as soon as he arrived, he complained that America was too expensive and he did not get paid enough. (Mind you, HQ pays for his house, car, living expenses, etc) The company was divided because the CEO had people he liked and favored, and when I said favored, he would have company dinner with them and them only, gave them special treatment.
So, the people I have mentioned above, other than Sabrina, were still working for the company at this moment, myself included, and started to go on coffee runs after lunch and walk around the office together. CEO did not like that at all and accused us that we are making a “team” and we should “hang out” with everyone in the company. He started to have 1 on 1 meetings with who he thought was in this “team”. From what I heard from other people before they left, the theme was the same.
In one of my 1 on 1 meetings with the CEO, (YES I had multiple 1 on 1 with him about the same topic), He told me we should come to work not to make friends but to work and then started to tell me I should include Maya (One of his favored people) and other people on coffee runs and walks, and even told me to hangout with them after work… I remember telling him I used to hang out with Maya and others when she first came to America, but they did not ask me to go out after work anymore for whatever reason. CEO told me I should ask them. Mind you, I am a guy, and all my co-workers are girls except the CEO at this point. So I told him It is very weird for me to ask girls for drinks because I don't want to look like a creep. He said there is something wrong with me and told me it is not creepy at all. He and I discussed similar topics for the rest of the meeting, and he kept telling me I was wrong. At the end of the meeting, he left with this comment. “You should start doing what I said, or I might have to do something I don't want to do.” I don't know what that means, but it sounded like a threat.
I think I have told enough about my new CEO, and to end this story, I will bring you guys to the current day; I am the only one left from the “team,” and I am outcasted. I found this funny because when everyone was here, he always told us he wanted everyone to get along, but now I am the last one left; he barely even talks to me, lol.
I have omitted many other details to make this story as short as possible. So, I want to hear what you guys think of this CEO. Thank you for reading my story; I apologize for being so long.