By Faiz Siddiqui

Uber rang in its IPO with champagne and mimosas. Then the hangover began.

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber shut down a party at a satellite California office and at least one employee resigned after some celebrations marking its initial public offering last week got out of hand, according to current and former employees, a setback for the company’s efforts to change its corporate culture.

旧金山——优步的现职员工和前雇员表示，该公司在上周举行的首次公开募股（IPO）庆祝活动失控后，关闭了加州一个卫星办公室的派对，至少有一名员工辞职。这些事让公司为改变企业文化所做的努力遭遇挫折。

Those people said that the celebrations, which kicked off with company-provided mimosas on the day of one of the largest public offerings in recent history, made them feel uncomfortable and seemed immature — especially as Uber’s stock price plunged, erasing billions of dollars of value. It also reminded some of a more toxic company culture Uber has been striving to erase, causing something of a hangover.

优步是近年来募集资金规模最大的IPO之一。上市当天，公司就举办了一系列庆祝活动，并提供免费的含羞草鸡尾酒给员工饮用。但是，上述爆料的员工们表示，在优步股价暴跌、市值蒸发数十亿美元的情况下举办庆祝活动让他们感到不舒服，而且显得他们很幼稚。这件事还让人们想起了某些优步一直试图清除的企业文化。这些比酒精毒性更大的文化让优步在上市的狂欢后陷入了“宿醉”。

“Old Uber hid themselves until today apparently,” said one employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to speak publicly.

“看起来，优步直到今天才暴露了真实的自我，”由于无权公开发言，一名员工匿名回答道。

Over the past two years, Uber has been working to reform its image after female employees accused the company of failing to address allegations of sexual harassment and of fostering a “tech bro” atmosphere. Investors pushed out Uber’s longtime chief executive, and the company hired a former U.S. attorney general to conduct a study of its workplace culture. That resulted in a 13-page report that provided new employee guidelines, including suggesting limiting the availability of alcohol in the workplace and de-emphasizing alcohol as a component of work events.

过去两年，优步一直在努力改变自己的形象。此前，有女员工指责公司未能解决性骚扰事件的指控，而科技公司的“兄弟”式氛围也颇受诟病。投资者赶走了长期担任优步首席执行官的卡兰尼克，并聘请了前美国司法部长霍尔德针对其公司文化进行整顿。他给出了一份13页的建议书，其中建议减少在工作场所提供酒精，并不再强调酒精是工作活动中的必需品。

Still, while Uber’s senior executives were away in New York for the company’s $82 billion IPO, staffers at the San Francisco headquarters and elsewhere were drinking in the offices to celebrate the company’s stock listing, which made some of them rich. Despite warnings from the company in its invitation to “Keep it Classy,” one executive assistant handed in her resignation after a verbal outburst and dispute with colleagues during the celebrations, according to current and former employees with direct knowledge of the incident. A party at one California satellite office was shut down, according to one of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

尽管如此，当优步的高管们还在纽约参加公司估值820亿美元的IPO时，旧金山总部和其他地方的员工却已经在办公室里喝酒庆祝了。这些员工中有一些人因为优步的上市而成为富翁。据了解该事件的现任和前任员工表示，尽管公司在邀请函中提醒要“保持优雅”，但在庆祝活动时，一名行政助理还是与同事发生言语冲突并争执起来，并在之后递交了辞呈。还有一名知情人士（由于形势敏感要求匿名）透露，加州一家卫星办公室的派对被取消。

“We limited the amount of alcohol during internal events last Friday and informed employees around the world that we expected them to celebrate that milestone responsibly,” Uber said in a statement. “We took action to address any who did not.”

 “我们在上周五的内部活动中限制了酒精的供应，并通知世界各地的员工，我们希望他们以负责任的态度来庆祝这次里程碑式的事件。” 优步在一份声明中表示，“我们对未能遵守要求的人采取了措施。”

Professors who study workplace culture said it is difficult for a company to truly change its character. By allowing any celebration involving alcohol during the IPO, Uber probably sent the wrong message to employees by blurring the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the workplace.

研究职场文化的教授们表示，公司很难真正改变自己的个性。优步允许在IPO庆祝活动中喝酒，这就已经向员工传递了错误的信息，因为这模糊了在工作场所中可接受与不可接受的行为之间的界限。

“Most organizations get into trouble at exactly a moment like this,” said Jennifer Chatman, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business who specializes in organizational culture. “They are viewing it as an exception.”

“大多数组织就是在这样的时刻陷入困境的。”加州大学伯克利分校哈斯商学院专门研究组织文化的教授詹妮弗·查特曼说，“他们认为庆祝活动可以当成例外。”

Uber has been working to recover from a raft of incidents that raised concerns about its workplace culture. The incidents culminated in the 2017 ouster of chief executive Travis Kalanick. He was also caught on video in the back seat of an Uber lambasting a driver who complained about dwindling wages. Kalanick later issued an apology to Uber employees, writing, “It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up."

优步一直在努力从一系列引发人们对其企业文化担忧的事件中恢复过来。这样的担忧在2017年首席执行官特拉维斯•卡兰尼克被免职时达到最高点。他还被拍到坐在优步的后座上，痛斥一名抱怨工资降低的司机。卡兰尼克后来向优步员工道歉，他写道:“这段视频的确引起了我的反思，公司受到的批评也在明确提醒我必须从根本上做出改变，成长为一名合格的领导者。”

Silicon Valley already lures employees with promises of open workspaces, complimentary coffee and juice bars, catered meals and work environments that generally mimic social settings. Cultural problems at tech companies have long been associated with excessive free alcohol at work events and parties. These types of amenities can lead to unrealistic expectations and, in Uber’s case, some said, created an atmosphere that mimicked the “bro culture” of a fraternity.

硅谷对工作环境的承诺吸引了大批员工，包括开放的工作空间、免费的咖啡、果汁和餐食，还有具有社交性的办公氛围。长期以来，科技公司的企业文化问题一直和工作场合和派对上过量的免费酒饮分不开。这样的消遣可能会导致不切实际的期望，一些人说，在优步营造了一种几乎等同于硅谷 “兄弟文化”的氛围。

The company hired former Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi to turn the organization around. Khosrowshahi was seen as a stable, relatively safe pick who could rebuild the company’s culture in the face of turmoil. He oversaw cultural reforms at Uber after the company unanimously adopted the recommendations in Holder’s report. He also moved to introduce safety features for the company’s customers, such as an in- app panic button.

优步聘请在线旅游公司Expedia前CEO达拉·科斯罗萨西来扭转局面。科斯罗萨西是一个沉着的、相对稳妥的人选，在公司面临动荡时他有望重建企业文化。在优步一致决定采纳霍尔德报告中的建议后，他负责监督公司的文化改革。他还为增强优步的安全性采取了措施，比如在应用程序中为用户增加了“紧急按钮”。

After taking over, Khosrowshahi published a LinkedIn post spelling out Uber’s new cultural values, including, “We do the right thing. Period.” He added, "As we move away from an era of growth at all costs to one of responsible growth, our culture needs to evolve.”

接管优步后科斯罗萨西在领英上发表了一篇文章，阐述了优步新的文化价值观。“我们做的是正确的事情”。他坦言，“我们要从不顾一切地增长转向负责任地增长，我们的企业文化需要进化。”

Khosrowshahi and Kalanick could not immediately be reached for comment for this story.

记者未能立即联系到科斯罗萨西和卡兰尼克就此做出评价。

Khosrowshahi and other Uber executives were in New York for the bell-ringing at Uber’s IPO launch on the stock exchange as festivities were underway last week, presenting the new, mature Uber.

科斯罗萨西和优步的其他高管上周在纽约参加了优步在纽约证交所的IPO，展现了一个全新的成熟的优步，与此同时庆祝活动正在进行。

Still, Wall Street wasn’t sold. The stock hit a low point of $36.08 on Monday, a 20 percent drop from its IPO price, before rising to near its initial price point of $45. That prompted Khosrowshahi to email employees this week to reassure them that Uber’s volatile performance out of the gate should not be a cause for concern.

不过，华尔街对此并不买账。该股周一触及36.08美元的低点，较发行价下跌20%，随后升至接近45美元的发行价。本周，科斯罗萨西只好给员工发电子邮件让他们放心，不要因为优步不稳定的表现而担忧。

 “Like all periods of transition, there are ups and downs,” he wrote, according to the letter, which was reviewed by The Washington Post.

据《华盛顿邮报》看到的这封信，他写道:“所有过渡时期都会有起起落落。”

While Uber’s stock price has fallen since the company went public, it was still a cause for celebration for employees. Many own shares in the company that they could not easily cash in on before the company listed them on the stock market. Uber going public frees them to sell.

尽管优步上市以来股价下跌，但它仍然成为员工庆祝的理由。许多人持有该公司的股票，在该公司上市之前，他们无法轻易变现。优步上市让他们可以自由销售。

Late last week, Uber employees received invitations to company IPO parties that would begin at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time, an hour before the ceremonial bell-ringing at the New York Stock Exchange. The invitations noted that the eyes of the world would be on Uber.

上周晚些时候，优步员工收到了公司IPO派对的邀请，派对将于太平洋时间早上5:30开始，距离纽约证券交易所的钟声敲响还有一个小时。邀请函写道，全世界的目光都将聚焦到优步。

In San Francisco, the celebrations began with mimosas and continued at a steady clip throughout the day, with employees drinking in the office, heading to bars after and then returning for a 2 p.m. “happy hour” with company-provided beer and wine.

在旧金山，庆祝活动从含羞草鸡尾酒开始，且喝酒活动持续了一整天，员工们在办公室里喝完酒，然后去酒吧，下午2点再回来喝公司提供的啤酒和葡萄酒，享受“快乐时光”。

Employees said champagne geysers erupted, and bottles of liquor from Kalanick’s time at Uber were broken out. The branding on the bottles of tequila and whiskey, which employees had kept in their desks or brought from home, featured an old version of Uber’s logo that has since been phased out. At one point, Uber was forced to prevent an employee from driving home, according to an individual with knowledge of the incident, who declined to be named citing the sensitivity of the matters.

员工们说，香槟酒喷出泡沫，几瓶卡兰尼克任职时期就存放在那里的烈酒也被开封。员工们打开存放在工位上或从家里带来龙舌兰和威士忌，酒瓶上的商标使用的还是已被优步淘汰的旧标识。一位知情人士称，公司当天不得不阻止一名员工开车回家。

The partying continued into the night, with employees heading to downtown bars. There was some apprehension about partying in the public settings, some of the employees said. Another former employee recalled the embarrassment of watching celebrations by employees who didn’t seem to understand the significance of what was happening. “What are we celebrating? The loss of billions of dollars in value?” the person asked. 

派对一直持续到深夜，员工们又去了市中心的酒吧。一些员工说，他们对在公共场合举行派对有些担心。另一名前雇员回忆起当看到员工们庆祝时的尴尬场面，他们似乎不明白发生的事情到底有没有那么重要。“我们在庆祝什么？价值数十亿美元的损失？”他说。

Uber’s celebrations also came two days after drivers staged widespread demonstrations in cities across the country to highlight the gap between their wages and executive compensation at the company. Some employees expressed apprehension about partying so soon after the drivers’ protests over pay, especially with so little attention given inside headquarters to the demonstrations outside.

在优步举行庆祝活动的两天前，全国各大城市的司机内举行了大规模示威，来强调他们的工资与公司高管薪酬之间的差距。一些优步员工对在抗议活动过去这么短时间就开派对表示担忧，尤其是在公司对示威活动几乎没有给予关注的情况下。

Experts in organizational culture said Uber’s IPO celebrations sent the wrong message, coming so soon after the company’s reckoning with the toxic culture of the past.

组织文化专家表示，优步在意识到过去不良的企业文化之后不久就举办IPO庆祝活动，这样做传达了错误的信息。

Christian Thoroughgood, an assistant professor of psychology and human resource development at Villanova University, said incidents such as Friday’s demonstrate that “culture doesn’t change overnight.”

维拉诺瓦大学心理学和人力资源开发助理教授克里斯蒂安表示，周五这样的事件表明“企业文化是不会在一夜之间改变的”。

“I think that those wounds are still open, and I think that the stigma that the organization still has of being this kind of country club, frat guy, aggressive environment — it certainly doesn’t serve to counter that,” he said.

他说:“我认为那些创伤仍然没有愈合，我认为这个组织的烙印仍然存在，包括乡村俱乐部式的氛围、兄弟文化以及激进的氛围。优步显然没能处理好这些问题。”