Thanks to Mitch and Frieda for speaking out. Many of my students are starting to look for jobs, and I used the latest news about Uber for a discussion on toxic cultures and why they should do due diligence on potential employers.

It’s pretty clear why their other investors are willing to criticize Uber’s culture. First, an open discussion of life at Uber could reduce the valuation of the company, and hence the value of their equity in the company. Second, this news makes it harder for them to hire top technical talent. Third, for those who may want to add to their stakes in Uber in a future funding round, criticizing the company is likely a sure way to be excluded from future rounds.

I hope that everyone will continue to shine a light on the darker corners of employment, so that potential employees will gain the confidence to decline to work for companies with weak HR protection and a dysfunctional culture.