ETHOZ Group Investigating Alleged Lewd Emails Between Managers
Upholding professional conduct in work situations is a requirement any employee would know of. But whether they adhere to it is another issue, as managers at a car rental company have proven through their emails.
ETHOZ Group, a vehicle rental and service provider in Singapore, has come under the spotlight after inappropriate emails between its managers were leaked online recently.
Making lewd remarks about female job applicants, the emails were anything but work-related.
The company has since addressed the matter which they are seriously looking into.
Inappropriate emails between managers leaked online
On Monday (7 Feb), screenshots of email exchanges between managers allegedly at ETHOZ Group made their rounds on social media.
The sexually explicit nature of the emails drew a lot of negative attention, as the correspondents made suggestive comments about female job applicants.
In one instance, a correspondent referred to a candidate for an admin position as a “massage girl”, closing his comment with a laughing streak.
But they didn’t always limit their interactions to off-hand remarks like that. Another email showed them seriously discussing what sort of admin role would suit an applicant best.
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when the other party suggested “bring(ing) her (potential gf) home for private use.”
Another email contained similar innuendos, implying that a young, female Workshop Admin (WA) can give mechanics “more energy & power” and help them “work faster”.
Instead of redirecting the conversation back to work matters, the recipient concurred, saying,
Young and pretty one, good. But I will bring her home for personal used soon to generate my energy, and I will show her my long lasting energy…lol
Comments made based on applicants’ appearances
Several emails even had job applicants’ photos, though it’s unclear if these came from the women themselves or other sources.
One of the photos simply came with a caption that said “Pretty Malay gal…”.
Another seemed to mock the physical transformation of a female candidate.
Equally appalling is one that jokes about a candidate whom they thought wouldn’t allow them to “wear green hat” or have an affair, for reasons they did not disclose.
Across the board, the exchanges generally seemed to digress from the topic at hand, which was to discuss the women’s suitability for various job positions they had applied for.
Ex-staff leave negative reviews on Glassdoor
What made matters worse were the negative reviews of the company on Glassdoor, a job listing and review site.
Several examples accompanied the incriminating email screenshots in the viral post, further painting ETHOZ Group in a negative light.
One ex-employee who left recently after working there for over 3 years gave them only a 1 out of 5 star rating, listing “toxic culture” as one of the cons.
More aggravating perhaps is the feedback to management, which they felt there was “no point giving” as “the management doesn’t care”.
Worse still, another former staff member who stayed for less than a year had “nothing good to say at all”.
Noting “all the negative feedback” that the management has received, they snidely wished the company “good luck”.
Company investigating incident
According to The Straits Times (ST), ETHOZ Group confirmed that the emails contained exchanges between managers at a workshop in Tampines.
Chief Executive Cindy Oh also told ST that they are taking the matter very seriously and “will not condone such behaviour in our workplace”.
She reportedly added that former employees at the workshop in question may have taken the screenshots.
Ms Oh assured that ETHOZ Group will be investigating the incident and taking disciplinary actions where necessary.
Hope companies will maintain professionalism
As much as casual conversations between colleagues are fine, it’s important to draw boundaries.
Exchanges that are degrading towards others are clearly inappropriate, especially in work settings.
Hopefully, this incident serves as a reminder for employees to maintain their professional conduct.
We also hope that the guilty individuals will face the consequences for their actions, so they won’t repeat their mistakes in the future.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Kakis’ Club on Facebook.
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