The floodgates have been opened on sexual misconduct allegations, and it doesn’t appear that anyone will be safe from having the hammer dropped on them – nor should they be.
The Harvey Weinstein scandal represented a huge turning point in allegations of this nature. For far too long – and in far too many industries – a blind eye was turned to the abhorrent behavior exhibited by some folks in powerful positions.
It appears that those days are over, as the dominoes continue to fall. We’ve seen allegations dropped against additional people in the entertainment industry, media personalities, and even members of Congress.
There have even been companies that have been outed for having a ridiculously inappropriate culture that allowed such things to go on in unfettered fashion.
Here’s another one that has some serious problems afoot – all because it couldn’t handle its own housekeeping.
Independent Journal Review shares the scoop.
Over the past 15 years, Massage Envy has given more than 125 million massages, gaining a reputation as one of the most well-known massage parlor chains around.
However, it turns out a number of those massages have crossed the line, and now 180 women are coming out with accusations stating they were sexually assaulted while under the parlor’s care.
A Sunday article from BuzzFeed News reports the largest massage franchise in the country is facing a number of lawsuits, citing police reports and firsthand interviews with victims.
In fairness to companies everywhere, when we’re talking about the actions of a single employee, that shouldn’t taint the entire organization as if it were bad news.
However, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case here. Accusations from 180 different women point to a whole world of problems within the organization itself, and some of the stories making the rounds are nothing short of disturbing.
One of those victims is Susan Ingram, who found herself being groped at her local Massage Envy in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Ingram visited the massage parlor with massage therapist James Deiter multiple times without ever facing any issues.
However, her last time was one she’ll never forget.
Upon their seventh meeting, Ingram had felt relaxed enough with Deiter that she could close her eyes and let all her stressors be worked out, although it was here that Deiter proceeded to aggressively grope her breasts, rub his erect phallus against her body, and stick his fingers into her privates.
Ingram says that she initially didn’t call the cops, but she did contact store management. She says she was crystal clear about what happened, and management was absolutely no help to her.
That prompted her to call the cops, who headed on down to the location. Upon arrival, Deiter confessed to assaulting Ingram, and also noted that he had done the same to nine other women.
The company is in damage control mode and issuing statements to attempt to quell the storm. As with most crisis response efforts, it’s proving to be too little too late.
Massage Envy looks to be dealing with a self-inflicted wound, and the chips will fall where they may.
Cultures are ingrained in organizations from the top down. Things that there are zero tolerance for need to be made absolutely crystal clear to employees from the get go, and the concept of employees and supervisors holding each other accountable needs to be encouraged.
It doesn’t appear that Massage Envy has been doing that, and the company risks having its brand forever tainted as a result.
Source: Independent Journal Review
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