Tanglin Club’s ‘toxic’ workplace culture under scrutiny after member allegedly abused employee

SINGAPORE: Tanglin Club’s “toxic” workplace culture is facing scrutiny by members after an allegation of staff abuse that contributed to the departure of the club’s general manager.

Founded in 1865, the private members’ club has more than 4,000 members and about 200 staff.

On Jun 28, 2023, Tanglin Club’s general manager David Brightling was allegedly on the receiving end of verbal abuse from a member of its general committee.

Mr Brightling resigned on Sep 27, 2023. He said that “a toxic work environment” was the main “push” factor, according to internal documents seen by CNA.

The general manager was also headhunted to manage a private members’ club in Hong Kong, and left to take up that position.

The member involved was removed from the general committee after a vote called by the club’s president Chong Zhi Cheng on Oct 16, 2023.

The vote was called on the basis that his alleged verbal tirade breached club rules that no member of the club shall “reprimand or abuse” any member of the staff.

An independent review committee was tasked to look into the removal of the member in question on Jan 30, 2024.

After investigating, the review committee found that the alleged abuse did take place, according to its report dated May 23, 2024.

According to Mr Brightling, he sent an email on Jun 28, 2023 about the club’s gym. The review committee’s report indicated that this was because a member had been seen “moving the exercise bicycles around”.

Mr Brightling then received a phone call from the member in question, calling him to a meeting later that day. The member had allegedly taken issue with being accused and named in the email. 

The review committee found that Mr Brightling was clear in his evidence that the member used the words “evil”, “incompetent” and “stupid” towards him at this meeting.

The general manager was also shouted at over the phone, and had the phone “banged down” on him by the member in question.

Together with the verbal abuse, this constituted “plainly abusive conduct”, the review committee comprising three ordinary club members found.

In a statutory declaration, the general manager stated that in almost three years working at the club, he had come across “many incidents” of harassment and bullying.

He said the Jun 28, 2023 incident was “certainly the most egregious example” in his entire career.

Mr Brightling’s observation of a “toxic” work culture at Tanglin Club was also supported by others the committee interviewed, who said that staff, including management, were “afraid” of members.

If a club member misbehaved, staff would purportedly tend not to make a formal complaint, but inform their head of department and let their manager handle the matter, or simply resign.

This affected staff morale and cost the club in terms of staff turnover and replacement, the review committee said.

They recommended that the club’s general committee establish an anti-harassment policy for members and staff, and a way for staff to report abuse without making a direct complaint against a member.

They also suggested having a standard protocol to handle disciplinary complaints against club members to ensure “fairness and transparency”, and lay down expected timelines.

The review committee also pointed out that it was a challenge to “get the right people” into the general committee, as only about 300 out of 4,000 members voted in elections.
 
A greater focus on diversity was needed as members of the general committee “tend anecdotally to be male and older”, in their 50s and 60s.

“Work needs to be done to encourage women and younger members to stand for election to the (general committee) and in so doing, to also contribute to the club,” the report stated.

The review committee noted that “factions, cliques and political in-fighting” were affecting working relationships within the general committee, and between the committee and the club’s president.

General committee members could consider mediation “or other efforts to heal divisions, rather than exacerbate them”, the report stated.

Finally, the review committee recommended exploring the suitability of a code of conduct “to set the right tone and improve the dynamics underlying the relationships at the club”.

CNA has reached out to Tanglin Club to ask about the implementation of the review committee’s recommendations.

Disputes involving Tanglin Club members have been a source of controversy before.

In 2022, the Straits Times reported that the club’s former president Yeoh En Lai had resigned amid questions about his university qualifications.

Mr Brightling, then the general manager, reportedly made a police report over this.

In 2018, TODAY reported that a member had sued Tanglin Club and its general committee for causing him humiliation and distress after he was subject to disciplinary proceedings.

This reportedly happened after he was accused of sending “offensive and disrespectful emails and WhatsApp messages”.