TikTok probes claims of aggressive work culture

TikTok is investigating claims of an aggressive work culture after a senior executive at the firm allegedly said he "didn't believe" in maternity leave.

The Financial Times (FT) reported that Joshua Ma has now stepped back and been replaced in his role leading the social media firm's UK ecommerce team.

It follows a probe by the newspaper which alleged a staff exodus from TikTok's London offices.

Mr Ma was approached for comment.

According to the FT, the launch of TikTok Shop - the firm's livestream shopping feature - in the UK prompted a number of staff to leave and complaints about an aggressive culture that goes against typical working practices in Britain.

The newspaper also carried reports of long working hours, with members of the ecommerce team saying they are expected to regularly work more than 12 hours a day.

The incident with Mr Ma relates to a dinner with staff earlier this year, where he allegedly said that as a "capitalist", he "didn't believe" companies should offer maternity leave.

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The company said it has a clear maternity leave policy in the UK, which includes 30 weeks of paid leave.

But the alleged remarks are being seen as a sign of a wider culture clash between TikTok's Chinese owners, ByteDance, and a number of its London-based workers.

An email to staff, seen by the FT, said that Mr Ma will now "step back" from his role.

A TikTok spokesperson said: "We are investigating alleged statements and actions to determine whether there has been a breach of company policies."

On the topic of work-life balance, the spokesperson said that employees "may at times need to work hours that match customer use patterns.

"We aim to make this the exception rather than the norm, and support our team with flexible working hours, regular no-meeting times, and robust health and wellbeing offerings."

The spokesperson added: "TikTok Shop has only been operating in the UK for a few months, and we're investing rapidly in expanding the resources, structures and process to support a positive employee experience."