"I worked as an assistant for a boss who demanded she be referred to as 'Supreme Overlord.' She even had a memo sent out requiring everyone to stop whatever they were doing and address her as such whenever she walked in the door. Though [she was] in her 40s, full-blown childlike tantrums and belittling rants were daily occurrences. She cited Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada as her inspiration for running the company, but this was no Vogue; it was a niche clothing company! The staff was very small, so each employee was required to do many different jobs, but barely paid for the one they were hired for.
"Once, we all had to drive out to Vegas for a festival to work, only to find out that she didn’t pay anyone because she was vacationing in Hawaii and forgot. Many of us were young and lived paycheck to paycheck, and found ourselves stranded out of state in the desert on a holiday, which meant everything was closed.
"Our regular office headquarters were a warehouse infested with rodents and feces that reached temps of over 100 degrees with no A/C, except in her office, which was empty 95% of the time. In less than two years, four separate employees suffered physical and emotional breakdowns and were hospitalized, sometimes to find that their health insurance had been canceled due to the company not paying their premiums. Meanwhile, the 'Overlord' was making extravagant purchases like $1,800 sunglasses or $80K cars.
"The second-in-command was the real overlord of the company, though. She called the shots and was the 'creative' mind. Her 'creativity' included having staff stalk websites of other designers and companies to re-create their ideas while publicly accusing everyone in the world of 'stealing' her designs or strategies. Both the Overlord and her minion had large social media followings, so anyone who 'crossed' them or called them out on their horrible business practices would be put on public blast on social media. Everyone lived in fear of speaking up. This company also championed themselves as leaders in the body-positive, anti-size-shaming field, but at the office called people 'fat' and 'sloppy' and regularly made fun of their customers and fans."
Source: Refinery 29
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