BuzzFix | Why Some CEOs Need to Stay Off LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become a parody account of LinkedIn. The platform once touted as a one-stop-shop for job-seekers to network with recruiters has painfully turned into a circus of hustle culture and celebration of sensationalizing nothingness.

Wife’s delivering a baby: Where’s my laptop? Taking a much-needed vacation after slogging your bottoms all year? Turn up at a beach like Hrithik Roshan in ZNMD. Company’s facing losses? Post a crying selfie of yourself to let people know you cared but had to lay off your beloved employees anyway. Billionaire’s spotted gobbling a Parle-G biscuit on an aircraft? You sire, deserve all our respect. Accompany these scenarios with a pic and a 300-word post and voila, you are now a ‘viral content creator’.

Amid this khichdi of you constantly sifting through your WhatsApp forward-esque LinkedIn feeds to find something truly meaningful, there are CEOs sat in different corners of the world that have taken it upon themselves to make you want to step away from LinkedIn forever.

Don’t take our word for it, just facepalm as we go through these instances together.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes recently made headlines after he was seen going shirtless and receiving a body massage while attending a business meeting. Taking to his official LinkedIn account, the CEO shared an image of himself while being seated shirtless in front of the laptop as a staff member gave him a massage.

“Was a stressful week and Veranita Yosephine suggested a massage. Got to love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I Can have a massage and do a management meeting. We are making big progress and I have now finalized the Capital A structure. Exciting days ahead. Proud of what we have built and never have lost sight of the finish," Fernandes wrote. The post immediately went viral and gathered criticism globally. However, it has now been deleted.

Also Read: AirAsia CEO Goes Shirtless, Receives Massage During Business Meeting

Founder-CEO of Bombay Shaving Company, Shantanu Deshpande received backlash for praising a tired employee who fell asleep in an autorickshaw. He praised Shanky Chauhan, for being the “heartbeat" of the company. “He LOVES the company. His eyes twinkle when he talks about his work, his team, his stores, his distributors, his customers," the CEO wrote about Shanky. He also mentioned how he struggles to get Shanky to switch off.

“While he is a diamond asset, Deepak and I struggle to get him to switch off. We constantly worry about his health. We realize that for him to do justice to his own commitment to the Co, longevity is everything," the CEO wrote. He wrote all of this as he posted a photo of Shanky, deep asleep in an autorickshaw after a morning flight and a couple of meetings.

Also Read: Indian CEO Slammed Over LinkedIn Post Praising Tired Employee Asleep In Autorickshaw

Wait, there’s more

CEO of Clearlink, James Clarke, praised an employee for selling his family’s dog to be able to return to the company’s office. A video which went viral showed James addressing his employees and saying how he had enough of employees cribbing about the new return-to-office rule. He highlighted how one of the staff members “made sacrifices" by selling their family dog to return to work. “I’ve sacrificed, and those of you that are here have sacrificed greatly to be here as well – to be away from your family. I learned from one of our leaders that, in the midst of hearing this message, (someone) went out and sold their family dog," he said in the video.

Also Read: Clearlink CEO Appreciates Employee’s ‘Sacrifice’ of Selling Family Dog to Return to Office, Gets Slammed

CEO of HyperSocial Braden Wallake was criticised for a LinkedIn post about laying off staff. Braden posted a photo of himself crying, with a post on how a few employees had to be laid off from his company. Braden took responsibility for his decision and spoke about how people who were laid off could still have been there if better decisions had been made. “So, I just want people to see, that not every CEO out there is cold-hearted and doesn’t care when he/she have to lay people off," he wrote.

The decision to put up a crying picture along with the text is what irked people on social media and Braden became a target of massive backlash.

(Note: This is a developing story. We will add updates as and when a new CEO attempts to embarrass themselves on LinkedIn.)