TikTok ‘toxicity’ ticks off UK staff as cultures collide

Members of TikTok’s UK staff are quitting over numerous cultural frictions at work, including an incident that involves a ByteDance executive’s comment against maternity leaves, reported Financial Times.

Joshua Ma, who also heads ecommerce at TikTok Europe, allegedly told staff over dinner that companies shouldn’t give maternity leaves, talking from a “capitalist” point of view. Financial Times wrote that the incident is already being investigated.

Employees are also complaining about shifts lasting over 12 hours, with some experiencing retaliation for taking leaves. Overtime duty has been praised internally, while those who don’t work extra hours or meet targets are shamed among co-workers.

Around 20 members of the London-based team have already quit due to the “toxic” work culture.

Earlier this year, China’s supreme court already ruled that big firms’ “996” work culture – which sees employees working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week – is illegal.

Staff members are also saying that TikTok is not keen on localizing its efforts to fit the UK market, insisting instead on a model that worked for its Chinese counterpart, Douyin.

See also: Explaining TikTok’s ecommerce bet in Southeast Asia