Bullying at Naver - New CEO Promises to Change Workplace Culture at Korea's #1 Search Engine
Last year, an employee in his 40s ended it all because he had been incessantly bullied at Korea's #1 search engine: Naver. Even though one of Korea's founding tech companies appears to be a horizontal and egalitarian workplace, its culture allowed bullying to run rampant. Over 50% of Naver employees reported harassment at work.
Choi Soo-yeon, Naver's new 40-year-old CEO with a law degree from Harvard, started her tenure this month and has pledged to reform the company's culture and pursue profits from new ventures. But can you shake out a generalized acceptance of bullying from the mindset of your workforce? Though the bullies are the source of the problem, it's the tacit tolerance that normalizes daily abuse. Unless you empower people to take care of themselves, nothing will change. And customers will notice your declining performance and leave for other competitors.