Morale at Meta is reportedly close to the worst ever. To help fix it, the tech giant will offer employees more snacks.
Business Insider reports that Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew “Boz” Bosworth acknowledged that the situation is sour during an internal call earlier this month, saying that while employee behavior has been bad in the past, the current situation is “probably higher” on the severity level.
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“I think Cambridge Analytica was probably the worst,” Bosworth reportedly said at a meeting on June 2. The Cambridge Analytica scandal made global headlines in 2016 after it was discovered that the company had obtained the data of more than 50 million Facebook users without informed consent and used it to target voters.
The current cratering behavior of the Meta seems to be caused by the recent management shakeup. The company laid off as many as 8,000 workers last month — about 10 percent of its workforce — and at least another 6,500 have been reassigned to work on its AI models in its new Applied AI division. Employees reportedly found the work stressful, menial, and “soul-crushing,” and most were unhappy with the change. The tech giant is facing backlash after announcing it will track US workers’ keystrokes and mouse movements to train AI.
Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth promised more investment in employee benefits in an effort to boost morale.
Credit: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bosworth acknowledged widespread employee dissatisfaction in the space on Monday, as reported by WIRED. Although he reportedly said that employees will need to make sacrifices and work in jobs they “don’t find personally fulfilling,” he promised to overhaul Meta’s culture and make it a “fun and exciting workplace”.
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“We underestimate the confidence you have that your unique expertise and contributions will be valued, that you will grow and develop your career, and that this will be a place where you can make an impact,” Bosworth wrote in a post seen by WIRED. “We have shaken up the management structure that provided stability at a time when rapid strategic changes, including employment growth/disruption, have left all parties vulnerable.”
As such, Bosworth said Meta will give managers up to 20 direct reports and provide employees with more personalized support. He also assured employees that Meta does not intend to fully replace AI employees, however they need to know how to use it, and will be given access to optional “AI coaching” tools.
“It’s clear that we’ve done a poor job of defining the vision, giving people a clear picture of how we will support them and their jobs in the transition, and painting a picture of how it will change over time,” Bosworth wrote.
Bosworth also tried to lift employee morale by promising improved snack bars, increased travel budgets, and investment in office social events. Considering the poor morale, it seems that the time-honored tradition of the office pizza party has a lot of heavy lifting.
Internal memos seen in a phone call earlier this month in which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised there would be no more layoffs, and Applied AI vice president Maher Saba said those assigned to the team will now be allowed to apply for other roles at the company. Still, reassurances that their situation won’t get any worse are probably of little comfort to already disgruntled workers.