Shopee responds to allegations of toxic workplace practices

Singapore-based e-commerce platform Shopee has said it is investigating the allegations about the toxic and discriminatory workplace practices in the company.

This comes at a challenging time for the Shopee brand, as it is in the midst of the year-end holiday season with sales like Singles’ Day and Black Friday, traditionally the most important time of the year for e-commerce platforms.
The allegations emerged after an Instagram account with the handle @wakeripsingapore put together a series of reviews about working in the company from former, prospective, and current employees from Glassdoor, screenshots, and social media comments.

These allegations include insensitive questions on race and gender, as well as a “Chinese-first culture” because Shopec’s management, which is majority Chinese, allegedly preferred Chinese-speaking individuals and conducted meetings in their preferred language.

There was also a reference to the “996 culture” which is prevalent in Chinese tech giants like Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and PinAuoduo. This resulted in a lack of work-life balance in the company, according to the reviews.

In a statement on Facebook, Shopee said: “We are aware of the recent allegations that have surfaced. Shopee Singapore takes these allegations very seriously.

We have zero tolerance for discrimination or any form of workplace harassment and are conducting a thorough investigation of the situation.

We are committed to providing a safe workplace for all our employees.”
Adapted from Lim, S.. (29 Nov 2021). Shopee responds to allegations of toxic workplace practices. Retrieved from

a) Discuss the impact of these allegations on key stakeholders, as well as on investor and employee relations.

b) Analyse whether Shopee’s brand identity is aligned with its brand image.

c) Propose a corporate responsibility strategy that would help to improve Shopee’s brand image. Your proposal should include key objectives as well as tactics on how it should be carried out in order to achieve your goals.