Pity City Tapestries

You can visit Pity City, but you can't live there. Unless you're sitting in one of these awesome chairs...

You can visit Pity City, but you can't live there. Unless you're sitting in one of these awesome chairs...

You can visit Pity City, but you can't live there.

I didn't even get a bonus. Or a new office chair.

A CEO’s unsympathetic response to employee questions about bonuses is drawing controversy online. Andi Owen — who helms MillerKnoll, the furniture group behind brands such as Herman Miller and Design Within Reach — has become a corporate villain in the eyes of critics after a video of her scolding staffers was made public. In the viral clip, taken during a recent town hall, Owen urges workers to “leave Pity City” and focus on the company’s $26 million sales goal, rather than on “what you’re going to do if we don’t get a bonus.” • The median employee salary at MillerKnoll is $44,810, per CNN. Owen was paid nearly $5 million in 2022. • The company’s sales fell 4.4.% in the most recent quarter, while orders dropped by 19%.

Annie Hall