Although bosses are there to make sure that the company runs smoothly and that their employees are being productive, no one does it quite like the CEO of Clearlink, James Clarke, who has been both irksome and hilarious to those who witnessed his "motivation" methods.
The CEO's Definition of a Good Employee
Clearlink CEO James Clarke addressed his employees in a video call last week, informing them that they have to start coming to the office despite promising a permanent remote work situation. Many are somewhat amused with the way the CEO spoke to his workers.
On early April 3rd, James Clarke said via email that employees who are living within 50 miles of the company headquarters in Draper, Utah, will now be required to come to the Clearlink office four times a week starting on April 17th.
The promise of remote work changed since the "leadership believes this is the best decision at this time to ensure near and long-term success of the company, as mentioned in Gizmodo. A virtual meeting was arranged to address the change.
For one, he challenged his employees to "outwork" him and continued to say that they won't. He expressed that he was all in on what they were doing at the company, which might be directed to 30 of the remote staff he believes were no longer working but are still employed.
After stating that he and his employees have sacrificed to be present in the company, he also pointed out that one of the said employees had sold their family dog, presumably for that employee to have more time for the company.
The Clearlink CEO then expressed that it breaks his heart as someone who has been "at the head of the humanization of pets movement in other businesses," whatever that means. Clarke was on the board of PetIQ, a pet care service, for ten years.
He also addressed that many content writers are now exclusively using AI to write, and then continued to mention that he could do that in 30 minutes of an eight-hour workday. He then pushed the idea of doing 30 to 50 times more than the normal production, or even more.
Addressing Single 'Breadwinner' Mothers
As if the initial statements weren't controversial enough, he continued to turn the subject to single mothers. The CEO tried to soften the blow by voicing out his support and service on a board that "does nothing but raise money for scholarships for single mothers."
He claims that he raised and wanted to talk about the issue because he knew how it has affected single mothers the hardest. "Many of you have tried to tend your own children and in doing so also manage your demanding work schedules and responsibilities," says the CEO.
After reiterating empathy for the struggles of single motherhood while holding a job, he also mentioned that one might argue that it was not fair to their employers, as well as their children. Clarke then clarified that he doesn't "necessarily believe that."
Despite that, he continued to express that "only the rarest of full-time caregivers can also be a productive and full-time employee at the same time." Sad to say that Utah has no laws against discrimination regarding working caregivers.
