Toxic leadership | Will WeWork's past offences prevent the firm from launching HR tech?

It’s no secret that WeWork, the brain child of disgraced businessman Adam Neumann, has been plagued by the ghosts of its former controversies. Behind the company’s initial façade of success hid a toxic leadership culture that plagued employees, including some extremely morally questionable actions undertaken by Neumann.

Topping the long list of allegations made against the firm include sexual harassment lawsuits, a culture of encouraged binge drinking, extreme mishandling of company assets, a culture of fear and a history of random, and sometimes mass, firings. In fact, so infamous is the company’s story, that it was recently made into a TV series in which Neumann was played by none other than Jared Leto.

However, the enduring firm is still very much in operation. Its core concept – co-working spaces for businesses or entrepreneurs who need a hot desk – is one that very much aligns with the needs of a post-covid workforce. And, under new and far less controversial leadership (new CEO Sandeep Mathrani, previously a real estate mogul, took over in February of 2020), the company seems to be somewhat stable.

Now, with some space between its past and the collective consciousness of those whom the concept may appeal, the Mathrani-led WeWork is looking to corner the market when it comes to modern workplace management, and appeal to HR in the process. This comes in the form of a new HR-centric software product, which according to reports from Bloomberg, it now hopes to sell to businesses.