This sounds like it has all the makings for a successful gender-discrimination class action suit. I would hope she and the rest of these women would consider it.
Uber sounds like a pretty toxic environment.
Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
41–50 of 1001 posts
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#42As someone who is Australian and not American, if anything like this happened and HR failed in the trainwreck like manner that they did in this story, we have a government organisation that oversees and enforces workplace legislation.
It seems insane to me that the only recourse you have after HR is basically "gather evidence and sue" which seems to be common advice in this thread.
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#43>On my first official day rotating on the team, my new manager sent me a string of messages over company chat. He was in an open relationship, he said, and his girlfriend was having an easy time finding new partners but he wasn't.
Totally normal behavior! Who hasn't spoken about their sex life the very first day of interactions?
"Welcome to the team, we use Git for source control, all of our company knowledgebase is on Confluence, and I'm in an open sex relationship! See you at lunch!"
I can't fathom what kind of weirdo does something like this, male or female.
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#44What's with all the 'this is unbelievable' comments here?
This is absolutely believable, Uber has pretty much made it their standard to break the laws where-ever they can, why should work place conduct be any different? In for a penny, in for a pound.
You'd never hear something even close to this from Stripe or some other company run by upstanding folks.
Fish rots from the head.
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#45this is fucked up. why not sue? if everything in here is true, this is easy lawsuit money.
How much 'easy lawsuit money' have you collected? Or anyone you personally know?
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#46Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#47In case anyone isn't sure why the original interaction is harassment: relationships within a reporting chain are generally prohibited, for both legal, ethical, and practical reasons. Sex becoming part of the effective job description crosses both legal and ethical lines, and team effectiveness is hindered when people wonder whether someone is getting special treatment because they're sleeping with the boss. A manager…
I am shocked, how is possible to get away with this toxic company culture.
They are used to break the laws, it's called disruption, I think.
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#48I am struggling to think of something productive to contribute to this discussion, because this absolutely incensed me. In lieu of anything else: Susan deserves to be commended for her bravery in writing this.
No shit. A story like this makes me realize that even with the "problems" I think I have at work, that get me all riled up, I have it made in the shade with lemonade compared to this woman's experience at Uber.
I started reading the article with the view of "If it's really that bad, just quit. Burn that bridge with thermite, and never look back." I finished the article wishing there were more Susan J. Fowlers in the world.
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#49What's with all the 'this is unbelievable' comments here? This is absolutely believable, Uber has pretty much made it their standard to break the laws where-ever they can, why should work place conduct be any different? In for a penny, in for a pound. You'd never hear something even close to this from Stripe or some other company run by upstanding folks. Fish rots from the head.
If anything, OP's subsequent employment by Stripe is a very strong endorsement for the workplace culture of the company.
Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
HR works for the organisation. It's not there to protect you. Source: work in the HR industry.
This is true, but I should point out that an organization with foresight would not permit harassment of employees, because the long-term cost of the lawsuits and bad publicity will be bad for the organization.
But Uber's entire business plan is about flouting rules and sustainability so that they can become irreplaceable. The sad fact is that they're probably being entirely rational. What's right is often unprofitable, short-term and long-term. Unless they have a big exodus of talent or customers, even a report this embarrassing is unlikely to slow the juggernaut.