Tech CEO Praises Employee Who Sold Family Dog To Accommodate Office Return In A Bizarre Pro-Grind Speech
Apr. 20 2023, Published 8:15 p.m. ET
In a bizarre attempt to drum up morale, the CEO of a tech firm praised an employee who sold his dog to accommodate a return to the office, RadarOnline.com has learned.
James Clarke is the Chief Executive Officer at Utah-based digital marketing firm, Clearlink.
Clarke addressed Clearlink employees in a virtual meeting, in which he alerted those who lived within 50 miles of the office to return to in-person work — and used a bleak scenario to push his grind mentality.
The virtual meeting was recorded and uploaded to Reddit and Youtube — and he was trashed by viewers. The recording was taken down after the digital marketing firm filed a copyright complaint; however, Vice reported a copy of the controversial clip.
In the video, the CEO appeared to hype up his workforce by shaming their current efforts.
"I challenge any one of you to outwork me, but you won’t," Clarke told his staffers on the video call. "I’m all in on what we’re doing here at Clearlink, and I want you to know it and feel it."
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Clarke went on to chastise employees — and accused 30 remote workers of "quiet quitting." The CEO continued his tirade with an accusation that developers were holding secret positions in other countries — and directed content writers to use AI in order to churn out "30-50 times our normal production."
The hustle warrior then used a heartbreaking story of an employee who gave up his cherished pet so that he could return to in-person work.
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"I’ve sacrificed, and those of you that are here have sacrificed greatly to be here as well — to be away from your family," Clarke continued. "I learned from one of our leaders that, in the midst of hearing this message, [someone] went out and sold their family dog."
The Clearlink leader added that it "breaks my heart, as someone who’s been at the head of the humanization of pets movement in other businesses that we’ve built."
Clarke appeared to use his 10 years of experience on the board of PetIQ, a company that sells products and vet services, the lessen the blow of the oddly spun story of a devoted employee's sacrifice.
The shocking rant didn't end with the tale of the dismissed family dog, either. Clarke questioned the ability of mothers to balance the role of dedicated employee and caregiver simultaneously.
"Breadwinning mothers were hit the very hardest by this pandemic," Clark told employees. "Many of you have tried to tend your own children and in doing so also manage your demanding work schedules and responsibilities. And while I know you’re doing your best... one could argue this path is neither fair to your employer nor fair to those children."
Clarke noted that while he did not "necessarily believe that," he was firm on his position that "only the rarest of full-time caregivers can also be a productive and full-time employee at the same time."