SoftBank Group—Vision Fund employees described workplace culture of 'sycophancy and harassment' with Son alternating between charm and rage
In December 2019, Vision Fund employees described the workplace environment as characterized by sycophancy and harassment. According to three regular participants in calls with Masayoshi Son, he would alternate unpredictably between being 'charming and effusively complimentary' and 'enraged, berating presenters and demanding a perpetually shifting yet unfailingly detailed set of metrics.' Employees reported never knowing where Son would land on the 'charm-rage axis,' creating an environment of fear and toxicity focused on placating the mercurial CEO rather than sound investment practices.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Worker Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.375 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.50)