According to the Washington Post, a CEO in Clearwater, Florida, is in hot trouble after attempting to convince her staff to continue working during Hurricane Ian, which she discounted as perhaps being a “nothing burger.”
Joy Gendusa, CEO of PostcardMania, addressed her staff in a conference room on Monday while speaking to them virtually from the front seat of a vehicle, assuring them that things wouldn’t be all that awful. In the video, Gendusa added, “Of course, you feeling secure and comfortable is of the highest importance, but I honestly want to continue to deliver and I want to have a successful end of quarter.”
According to the newspaper, Gendusa also said that she had lived in the region for more than 30 years and believed that the media often exaggerated the severity of impending storms.
The governor of Florida had issued a warning at the time she spoke, stating that there was a “significant chance of life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rains” by midweek.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by PostcardMania.
Gendusa experienced a barrage of derogatory remarks on social media hours after being initially reported on by labor journalist Jonah Furman on Twitter, and her employer on Tuesday announced its offices would be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.
Then, however, management informed staff that they would still be required to perform a full 40-hour workweek, including making up any time missed because of power outages. The firm said it will offer its employees paid time off after that sparked more uproar online, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
According to an internal email released by Jessica Lalau, director of marketing and communications at PostcardMania, Gendusa apologized on Wednesday to staff members who “thought that it came across as disrespectful,” the Tampa Bay Times said.
More than 320 employees are employed by the marketing firm, which Gendusa launched in 1998 and is based in the Tampa Bay region. According to the company’s website, it prints millions of postcards every week and distributes online advertising through Facebook and Google.