“Toxic” work culture in Tanglin Club under a magnifying glass after a member allegedly abused the employee

Singapore: “toxic” work culture in Tanglin Club is the subject of analysis of members after accusing of abuse of staff, which contributed to the departure of the CEO of the club.

Founded in 1865, the private club members have over 4,000 members and about 200 employees.

On June 28, 2023, the General Director of Tanglin Club, David Brightling, allegedly met with verbal insults by a member of the General Committee.

Brightling resigned from the position on September 27, 2023. According to internal documents, which reached CNA, the main “pushing” factor was “toxic work environment”.

The general director was also sought, who was to manage the private member club in Hong Kong, and left to take this position.

The interested member was removed from the General Committee after voting convened by the president of the Chong Zhi Cheng club on October 16, 2023.

Voting was ordered on the basis that his alleged verbal tyrada violated the club’s regulations stating that no club member must be “admonished or insult” any member of the staff.

The Independent Audit Committee received the task of examining the removal of a given member on January 30, 2024.

After the investigation, the Audit Committee stated that, according to its report of May 23, 2024, alleged abuse took place.

According to Mr. Brightling, on June 28, 2023, he sent an e-mail on the club gym. The report of the Audit Committee shows that this was due to the fact that a member of “moving training bikes” was seen.

Then Mr. Brightling answered the phone from the member who called him to meet the same day. The member allegedly disagreed with the fact that he was accused and exchanged him in an e-mail.

The Audit Committee stated that Mr. Brightling clearly presented his testimony that the commission member used the words “bad”, “incompetent” and “stupid” during this meeting.

The general director was also shouted on the phone, and the member in question “hit” the phone.

Together with verbal insults, this was “clear abusive behavior”, as stated by the Commission assessing consisting of three ordinary club members.

In a statutory statement, the CEO stated that in almost three years of work at the club he encountered “many cases” of harassment and abuse.

He said that the incident of June 28, 2023 was “certainly the most glaring example” in his entire career.

The observation of Mr. Brightling regarding the “toxic” work culture in Tanglin Club was also confirmed by other people with whom the Commission conducted interviews, and who stated that employees, including management, were “afraid” of members.

If the club member survived incorrectly, the staff allegedly did not make a formal complaint, but informed the head of the department and allowed the manager to deal with the case or simply resigned.

As the Audit Committee stated, this influenced the morale of the staff and cost the club in the form of rotation and exchange of staff.

They recommended that the Club Committee General to develop a policy of preventing meals and staff to be molesting and enabled employees to report abuses without submitting a direct complaint against the member.

They also suggested having a standard protocol for examining disciplinary complaints towards club members to ensure “honesty and transparency” and specify the expected time frames.

The Audit Committee also indicated that “the involvement of the right people” to the Committee General was a challenge, because only about 300 out of 4,000 members voted in the election.

It was necessary to put more emphasis on diversity, because members of the General Committee “Anegdotic are usually older men” aged 50 and 60.

“You should work on encouraging women and younger members to run in elections to (Committee General) and in this way of making a contribution to the club” – was found in the report.

The Audit Committee noted that “Fractions, clicks and political conflicts” affect working relations in the General Committee and between the Commission and the President of the Club.

Members of the General Committee could consider mediation “or other efforts aimed at alleviating divisions, instead of exacerbating them” – was stated in the report.

Finally, the Audit Committee recommended to examine the usefulness of the Code of Procedure “in order to give the right tone and improve the dynamics underlying the relationship in the club”.

CNA contacted the Tanglin club asking about the implementation of the recommendations of the Audit Committee.

Disputes with the participation of Tanglin Club members have already been a source of controversy.

In 2022, the “Straits Times” announced that the former president of the Yeoh En Lai club resigned from questions about his university qualifications.

According to reports, Mr. Brightling, the then director, submitted a notification to the police in this matter.

In 2018, the Today announced that a member yes sued Tanglin Club and its general commission for causing humiliation and suffering after pending disciplinary proceedings against him.

Apparently it happened after he was accused of sending “offensive and offensive emails and WhatsApp”.