A new report claims employees at the startup promoting “mental fitness” which boasts Great Britain’s woke Prince Harry as its chief impact officer are disgruntled about proposed modification of their contracts, even claiming that their “heart is broken.”
BetterUp, a company valued at roughly $5 billion which hired Prince Harry last spring, enthusing they were “energized by his model of inspiration and impact through action” as a “true citizen of the world,” employs over 2,000 professional coaches. The startup recently announced a modification of their contracts, according to The Daily Beast, which prompted some employees to express their bitterness to the media outlet.
“There’s so many of us now who are upset,” one coach lamented, adding, “I would say my heart is broken. And I think there’s really questionable ethics going on.” Another coach echoed, “They’ve turned us into a commodity.”
A BetterUp executive, contacted by The Daily Beast, insisted in a note, “No one will see any sort of decrease in their effective session rate compared to their 2021 effective session rate. … [W]e are on a multi-year journey, and we will be treating this first year as a learning period.”
But one coach dismissed the company’s explanation, saying, “I am relieved, but not satisfied. The fact that [BetterUp] rolled out their initial plan at all makes me suspect of their intentions, and makes me distrust them. It was so demeaning and insulting to have to pressure them not to give us pay cuts—it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
Another coach opined, “This was the power of the collective body here. … We can’t unionize because we’re independent contractors but there were quite a few of us, over 600, who were furious. We united in pushing back.” She also revealed some coaches had considered taking legal action against the startup.
One coach said the employees had been notified earlier in April that contract changes were imminent. The coach said, “Many of us were very, very excited about it. Instead what they came out with was a program that cut everybody’s pay in the middle of one of the greatest inflation times in history.”
When he joined the company, Prince Harry stated, “I firmly believe that focusing on and prioritizing our mental fitness unlocks potential and opportunity that we never knew we had inside of us. As the Royal Marine Commandos say, ‘It’s a state of mind.’ We all have it in us. Being attuned with your mind, and having a support structure around you, are critical to finding your own version of peak performance.”
Last December, speaking in an interview with the business magazine Fast Company about his role as chief impact officer with BetterUp, Prince Harry, who with his wife Meghan Markle reportedly has a net worth of $10 million, was mocked after he said of people who had resigned from their jobs, “Many people around the world have been stuck in jobs that didn’t bring them joy, and now they’re putting their mental health and happiness first. This is something to be celebrated.”