Photo via @iam3ree/TikTok
April 7, 2022, 1:55 pm
A shocking TikTok video shows a recorded Zoom call in which the CEO of mobile tech company Digital Factory berated, swore at, and ultimately fired an unpaid intern for failing to respond to a message over the weekend, waiting until the Monday meeting. The intern, who is also in school, was too busy to respond to CEO Lawrence Griffith’s request for a call until Friday evening, and decided to avoid bothering him over the weekend and wait to talk with him at the scheduled Zoom meeting on Monday.
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The TikTok user, identified only as Jon, told the Daily Dot that he had to take the original video and follow-ups down because he felt he couldn’t afford to fight Griffith on this after receiving an email from Digital Factory threatening legal action. However, the recording of the meeting remains on another account.
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“Have you lost your f—ing mind?” says Griffith as the video begins. “No, no, no, no. This ain’t how s–t works. It don’t work like that… Normal etiquette is that you say something. You don’t just say nothing, that’s not how this s–t works…. That shit is rude as f—. Do you understand that?”
Jon attempts to defend himself and request that Griffith calm down and talk to him in a respectful manner as the CEO continuously tries to speak over him and tells him to “stop talking.”
“I’m sorry that you feel that way,” Jon says. “I just knew we were going to get together today. You’re getting really upset… You’re not going to talk to people crazy, Lawrence. C’mon. You gotta relax.”
Griffith does not relax, however, accuses Jon of being the disrespectful one, and ultimately fires him as some other poor employee sits there on the call looking very uncomfortable.
“You’re done. You’re fired. Bye.”
According to the Daily Dot, Jon explained in deleted follow-up videos that he had simply assumed it would be better not to bother the CEO during non-work hours and that he was an unpaid intern anyway, giving up his labor for free for the sake of the company. What should have been a tiny issue cleared up with a clarification from Griffith about what he prefers in terms of communication outside of work hours instead blew up into something that many are calling workplace abuse.
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This isn’t the only time that Griffith has been accused of abuse, either. Glassdoor reviews of the company reveal that multiple other employees feel that he has been inappropriate and berated people for small offenses, with only 42 percent of reviewers saying they approved of the CEO and just 24 percent saying they would recommend the job to a friend.
“Extremely unorganized, unpaid, no transparency regarding finances, angry responses to questions about being paid, want you to be available 24/7 without pay,” reads a one-star review. “CEO throws childish temper tantrums and curses at everybody then tries to cover it up as claiming to be ‘passionate.’”
“Avoid this toxic and abusive workplace.”
The unfortunate reality is that many CEOs and other bosses often expect employees to be at their beck and call at all hours, regardless of how much they get paid, and in fact sometimes treat unpaid interns the worst. Griffith seems to be no exception, but might now be facing some consequences for his behavior.
“Glad the video came out,” reads the title of the most recent review, posted on Tuesday, which also gives the company one star.
Though Jon might not have the resources to fight against the non-disclosure agreement he signed, which companies increasingly weaponize against employees who leave them, he gave a statement expressing that this kind of toxic work culture can’t go on.
“We need to change the culture,” he said. “Younger generations want more. You want more from us, we want more from you.”
*First Published: April 7, 2022, 1:55 pm
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