SKIMS co-founder Emma Grede says work-life balance is employees' responsibility
SKIMS co-founder Emma Grede is opening up about work-life balance.
In an interview with "Diary of a CEO" podcast host Steven Bartlett, Grede said a healthy work-life balance is for employees "to figure out."
The comments arose out of a question from Bartlett asking Grede what questions would be viewed as a "red flag" in an interview setting.
The example "red flag" question Grede cited was, "So, can you talk to me about work-life balance in this organization?"
"I'm leaving, get out!" Grede said, reenacting a dramatic response to the question.
"Here's the thing: Work-life balance is your problem, that's yours to figure out," she added.
Grede, who in addition to SKIMS also co-founded Good American and Safely, said her disdain for the question is due to the way she runs her own companies, which she says are designed to allow people to live their lives freely.
"Because the way we run organizations now is that no one misses dentist appointments or a doctor's appointment or a haircut or their kid's parent-teacher conference ... that's just not how we work anymore, right?" she said.
She continued, "You come in, you have set hours, but there's flexibility within your working life. It's not like 'Oh my goodness, such and such is not at their desk.' That's just not how we work anymore."
Grede said for that reason, mention of work-life balance in an interview can cause her serious pause.
"When somebody talks to me about their work-life balance in an interview process, I'm like, 'Something is wrong with you. You haven't been able to figure that out. That's not the way you win this interview.'"
Work-life balance may be front of mind for some employees, as studies show work stress can have significant impacts on mental health. A 2022 Gallup survey, for instance, showed 4 out of 10 workers in the United States reported that their job had either a somewhat negative or extremely negative impact on their mental health.
Grede's comments have stirred the pot on social media, eliciting responses from both sides of the debate.
"Work life balance is fine for the owner to ignore who makes 20x my salary! Massive red flag," wrote one commenter.
Another social media user came to Grede's defense, writing, "She's not saying work life balance is bad. She's saying you need to learn how to manage that yourself and if you can't then this isn't the right place for you."
ABC News has reached out to Grede for comment.
