Former employees of Aritzia, the Canadian fashion giant, have recently come forward to shed light on the company’s toxic work culture. According to their accounts, they endured an “explosive” and intensely “high pressure” environment, with some staff members experiencing disturbing incidents of racism.
These troubling allegations surfaced when 53 current and former Aritzia employees shared their experiences with Business Insider.
Between 2005 and 2019, at least five employees working at Aritzia stores in Ontario, Canada, revealed that they were asked to rate their colleagues based on their appearance.
The employees said, “Your managers asked you to rate your appearance or that of others from 1 to 10 in daily meetings.”
“Automatically, if you are skinny, you will not be less than seven years old,” an employee claimed.
Several staff members compared their experience working at Aritzia to enduring “psychological abuse”, noting that the negative culture arose from the top down, with founder Brian Hill being identified as a contributing factor.
An explosive Business Insider report delved into the tumultuous work environment at Aritzia, revealing startling allegations against the company’s founder, Brian Hill.
Some employees recounted incidents of Hill’s explosive temper, including instances in which he allegedly yelled and threw objects at workers, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation within the organization.
One particularly troubling incident involved Hill questioning an employee about a pen and reacting aggressively when he gave the correct answer. The ex-employees’ descriptions of such incidents highlighted a management style that they likened to “psychological abuse”.
In response to the report, a representative for Hill denied the allegations, saying that he is a demanding CEO who is committed to fostering the professional growth and development of employees.
They insisted that the allegations did not represent the corporate culture that Hill and his leadership group had created.
The report also highlighted shocking instances of racism experienced by some black employees at Aritzia.
During the incident, a former employee alleged that her store manager physically assaulted her with racial slurs. This employee later filed a lawsuit against the company and the store manager.
In addition, two other black employees recounted being subjected to racially insensitive and demeaning comments, and being asked by the store manager to make coffee the same color as their skin.
Jessica Porter and Candace Jerry claimed they were given chores that were not asked of their white counterparts, such as vacuuming, steaming, or carrying laundry to the sales floor.
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In response to these allegations, Aritzia’s spokesperson denied racial bias in task assignment and stated that the company does not assign tasks based on an employee’s race.
The report has shed light on the problematic work environment and alleged cases of racism at Aritzia, sparking broader discussions about work culture and discrimination within the company.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn