'Built on fear' | TikTok's brand power is luring talent, but 'toxic' culture could be forcing them out

Toxic atmosphere, burnout and a culture “built on fear” is causing huge rifts between TikTok’s owners and its UK workforce, according to new reports.

The Financial Times (FT) has reported that trouble is brewing at the London offices of the social media behemoth, which launched the UK arm of its e-commerce platform TikTok shop in October 2021. Reports have suggested that half of the original workforce which launched the venture have left the company in the months since.

“There are people leaving every week, it is like a game every Monday we ask who has been fired, who has quit,” one current employee told the FT.

And as one employee implied, the bad atmosphere and high demands show no sign of ending, because the company has a long list of hopefuls – desperate to add TikTok to their CV – lined up to replace any dissenters.