Insufferable moment the Australian tech giant’s ‘head of vibe’ gushes about the ‘magical’ life employees have at Canva – but there’s one problem with his claim
- Canva’s head of vibe brags about the workplace
- Company introduced personnel classification system
An employee of a major tech company with the bizarre title of “head of vibe” has appeared in a glowing interview about the invigorating workplace, as reports surface about a judging employee ranking system.
Canva topped Fast Company’s 2023 Best Workplaces for Innovators list and Chris Low – officially the ‘head of vibe’ at Australian HQ – spoke highly of the workplace that includes a dedicated chef with chocolate chip cookies, gym classes, cooked meals, rooftop beehives, and an annual “vibe fee.”
While Mr. Low admitted his title was “unusual,” he said Canva employees like himself “literally… bring the vibe to the workplace every day.”
Mr Low said the Canva Australia team created “magical moments” in the workplace on a daily basis.
But Canva may not be the work paradise it claims, as reports have emerged that the graphic design software platform company — which attracts 300,000 applications a year — has introduced an employee benchmarking system that rates workers out of five.
A Canva employee explained how he was told he had fallen into the company’s lowest-ranked group of employees.
“It just came out of nowhere,” David – whose name has been changed to protect his identity – told the Australian Financial Review.
David said graphic design platform managers told him he was “missing” targets, which meant he was in the bottom bracket of workers.
“Everyone’s looking over their shoulder now,” David said.
“It’s all a bit surreal.”
Reports have surfaced that Canva has introduced employee benchmarking systems that rate employees out of five
Mr Low said it had been a “memorable” year for the graphic design platform
David said his Canva manager spoke to him about his performance from a pre-written script, but the company disputes this.
“We don’t use pre-written scripts for performance appraisals,” a Canva spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
The spokesperson said the company has had the same performance system for more than two years and “has not made any changes during that time.”
They also said the company had seen an increase in people “who are in our best performing category, rather than the lowest.”
Prominent media commentator Joe Hildebrand called the company’s and Mr. Low’s action Sunrise.
“The last time I saw something run on just good vibes was at a bushrave in 1995 and even then I’m pretty sure there was more to it than just vibes,” he said.
Media commentator Joe Hildebrand cited Canva’s business practices
Mr Hildebrand said a company can have ‘all the cookies and beanbags in the world, but if employees aren’t productive I’m pretty sure those good vibes go away pretty quickly’.
Mr Hildebrand, who previously worked as a workplace reporter, said he was aware of reports that the company had developed a five-tier employee classification system.
“And that’s the problem with all these hippie-trippy tech companies that offer things like free yoga: one minute you’re doing sun salutations and the next you’re doing downward dog,” he said.
In winning the Fast Company award, Mr Low said in a statement that it had been a “memorable” year for the technology platform.
“Fostering innovation has been at the core of our culture from the very beginning and is a big part of who we are today,” he said.
“We’ve been on the road for almost ten years now, but it still feels like we’ve only just begun.”