An employee claims his former supervisor “waterboarded” him in front of his team to demonstrate how hard they should work. The company president doesn’t deny an incident took place. He says the employee’s account is exaggerated.

There’s nothing like having water poured in your face while co-workers hold you to the ground to motivate you.

Former Prosper, Inc., employee Chad Hudgens felt motivated – to file a lawsuit against his former company, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

According to Hudgens’ suit, he volunteered for a “new motivational exercise” his boss was going to demonstrate.

The group of employees allegedly went to the top of a hill. The boss asked workers to hold Hudgens down while his boss poured water from a gallon jug over Hudgens’ mouth and nostrils,
like the interrogation tactic known as waterboarding.

The suit alleges the boss told the team at the end of the demonstration that they should work as hard at making sales as Hudgens had worked to breathe.

Prosper President Dave Ellis says it didn’t quite happen that way. Ellis says, “Everyone was
involved and enthusiastic,” and Hudgens wasn’t held down while the water was poured on him.

Hudgens’ suit also claims these “motivational tactics” were used by Prosper: drawing mustaches on employees’ faces, taking away their chairs and beating on their desks with a wooden paddle.

If proven true in court, pretty bad, huh? Well, read on.

What type of company is Prosper? It “provides executive-level coaching.” Its mission: “to provide our students with the education and hands-on experiences they need to achieve their personal and professional goals.”

Tags: motivation, team building, waterboarding