Although Miguel McKelvey, the cofounder of WeWork, officially stepped away from the company in 2020, the emotional weight of that departure clung to him long afterward, particularly in the form of persistent guilt. As WeWork’s Chief Culture Officer, McKelvey was not merely a high-level executive; his role centered around cultivating an environment where employee wellbeing, belonging, and engagement were prioritized, even as the organization faced mounting controversies. According to accounts shared by former employees with Business Insider, McKelvey would often take the time to greet and personally welcome new hires during their orientation, a gesture that reinforced his reputation as someone who deeply valued the human connections within the workplace.

Yet, this sense of care became difficult to reconcile with what unfolded in the aftermath of WeWork’s failed attempt to launch a highly anticipated IPO. The collapse of that effort, combined with a bailout orchestrated by major investor SoftBank, ushered in a period of upheaval that saw dramatic layoffs and ultimately triggered the resignation of CEO Adam Neumann, McKelvey’s cofounder. For many employees who had once felt buoyed by WeWork’s ambitious promises, this marked a devastating unraveling of their professional hopes. During a recent episode of the *Scale with Soul* podcast, McKelvey opened up about the internal conflict he carried with him from this period. He described in frank terms the guilt that weighed on him and his gradual, difficult journey toward acceptance and self-forgiveness.

Reflecting on his own position during that time, McKelvey acknowledged a deeply uncomfortable reality: he had attained measurable financial security through his involvement with WeWork, while countless others—colleagues he admired and cared about—were dismissed from their jobs with little to show for their efforts. He explained that he felt personally compelled to somehow remedy or “correct” those losses because so many individuals’ dreams and aspirations had become intertwined with the company’s rise, only to be dashed during its tumultuous downfall.

This acknowledgment of responsibility was set against the backdrop of significant cultural criticisms levied against WeWork in its heyday. Investigations, including one from Business Insider, revealed troubling dynamics within the workplace. Allegations painted a picture of blurred professional boundaries, including reports of executives engaging in relationships with subordinates, while accounts from current and former employees described a party-like atmosphere under Neumann’s leadership, in which meetings involved alcohol—reportedly tequila—and company retreats were associated with drug use and sexual encounters. When approached for comment regarding these claims, WeWork declined to respond.

Despite these negative reports, McKelvey remembered a very different, more affirming cultural side of WeWork. He recalled moments when employees were encouraged to share personal stories, including challenges related to cultural identity and code-switching in the professional space. In one poignant instance, he described speaking with a female employee who told him she had never even met her manager at past jobs. Her sense of visibility and recognition within WeWork symbolized real progress to McKelvey. Yet in his own words, he lamented that he had ultimately “failed that woman,” because as the company imploded, employees like her would likely be forced back into impersonal corporate environments where their individuality was disregarded. McKelvey admitted that coming to terms with the inevitability of her return to such workplaces weighed heavily upon him, an emotional burden he struggled to accept but acknowledged was deeply felt ‘in here,’ he said, pointing to his heart.

The company’s decline was both dramatic and far-reaching. Within months of withdrawing its IPO in 2019, WeWork parted ways with nearly a fifth of its workforce, cutting 2,400 jobs in one significant round of layoffs. The economic toll intensified with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting even more staff reductions as the business model faltered under the strain of a shifting global economy. By 2023, the company had gone as far as filing for bankruptcy protection, a process it would eventually navigate through, emerging from bankruptcy the following year.

For McKelvey personally, leaving the company prompted a new chapter in which he pursued ventures aligned with his interests beyond coworking spaces. He went on to cofound *Unbound*, a company focused on preventative health, as well as *UK50*, a program designed to support youth basketball. Still, as he discussed on the *Scale with Soul* podcast, even while developing new endeavors, the emotional residue of his WeWork years remained present. He revealed that rational, intellectual reasoning alone was insufficient as a strategy to move beyond the pain. Instead, he found that a more inward, reflective process was necessary. He described his approach of breathing deeply, turning inward, and intentionally allowing himself to fully experience the discomfort of guilt before working toward letting it dissipate.

In candid reflection, McKelvey admitted that without this ability to process grief and guilt, he likely would have remained immobilized in a destructive mental state, ‘still wallowing in a bad place,’ as he put it. Even so, during the conversation he acknowledged that these feelings have not disappeared entirely. At one point, he noted that simply talking about them caused his heartbeat to accelerate, a vivid reminder that while he is learning to let go, the emotional cost of WeWork’s collapse remains an inescapable part of his personal and professional journey.

Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-cofounder-miguel-mckelvey-wallowing-guilt-2025-9