For MillerKnoll CEO Andi Owen, the viral violation of employees sparks

by Kay Posted on April 22, 2023 05:00

THE viral video about a CEO scolding his workers a Zoom calling is common and it doesn’t reflect very well on the boss.

The CEO of a furniture company is obsessed with sales

Andi Owen started the company’s Zoom call on a positive note, but quickly turned dark when he revealed that not only were they not getting bonuses, but they were also responsible for more sales, $26 million to be exact.

Owen has caused outrage not only among his employees, but now he is participating online. “There were a lot of questions about how we could stay motivated if we didn’t get a bonus,” Owen said. “Some were nice and some weren’t so nice, so I’ll deal with that.”

Owe then broke into his employees. “Don’t ask ‘what are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus?’ he mocked his colleagues. “Spend your time and effort thinking about the $26 million we need, not what you’re going to do if you don’t get a bonus, okay?”

Andi Owen offered some strange words of wisdom

To further prove his point that hard work for very little pay pays off (as an aside, the unofficial word on the internet is that the average salary at this company is around $43-$44,000 for the mid-level employees they’re supposed to be dealing with in the video).

Okay, back to the words of wisdom: “I had an old boss who once told me, ‘You can visit the pitiful town, but you can’t live there.’ So, people, leave the pitiful town. Let’s get it done. Thank you,” the CEO then threw his hands in the air as if he had just had a mic-drop moment.

In fact, he only degraded his important employees. He even said “boom” like he was doing something big! A company spokesperson spoke to him People magazine and admitted it wasn’t a good look.

“Last month, we held a 75-minute corporate meeting where we shared business updates, product launches and campaigns. A 90-second clip of an internal meeting loses the context of the wider discussion,” they reasoned his humiliating words.

As for the bonuses, nothing has been decided

The statement also shares that bonuses have not yet been decided, which is why the CEO felt so strongly about the issue. “Our CEO strongly believes in the company and what we can do together to close our financial year successfully. Our bonuses are determined by the Company’s full-year financial results, and our financial year ends at the end of May. No premium has been set for anyone at MillerKnoll.”

Andi Owen issued an apology

Owen claims she is “transparent and empathetic, and as I reflect on this case, I feel terrible that my rallying cry came across as insensitive.” Now he realizes that the moment was not what he had hoped for. “”What I hoped would energize the team to meet a challenge we’ve faced many times before, backfired in a way I didn’t intend, and for that I’m sorry.”

MillerKnoll also admits that after the incident, they fully expect sales to be down this quarter, but that’s a trend compared to their year to date.