Those same employees are squeezed for all they are worth. With the exception of the sales and executive team who make bank off of other people’s blood sweat and tears, everyone is overworked and consequently underpaid.
The notion of a ‘unique culture’ is pushed all too often but aside from getting overpriced blankets to push political views on employees and empty talks about diversity, the culture is very much like being back in high school. Mediocre middle management runs the show with little skill, experience or clear vision. Promotions are given only to those this clique bestows such honors to, often leaving you scratching your head why as they are not typically awarded to those with a demonstrated performance history to warrant said promotions. More troubling is that those who are truly deserving are often times skipped over altogether. A new policy of no longer announcing employee departures is a concerted effort to mask retention loss at a visible scale. Expect a glaring turnover and loss of industry leaders with this questionable/arbitrary mode of selective advancement.
There is a huge issue with the existing hiring process. Middle management continually extends job offers to those who are somehow previously associated with them in one form or another. Countless, genuinely worthy candidates who take the time and effort to submit resumes are either overlooked entirely or played around with if they are selected to partake in initial interviews. When employees refer eligible hires who are then ghosted or mistreated during the interview phase, you end up alienating suitable candidates and anyone who may have considered referring talent in the future.
Expect to work absurd hours and not be compensated for it as your employment status of exempt is a devious loop hole to habitually have you working considerably more hours for the same 40 hour a week pay. Even though this is a service industry which necessitates some overtime work put in on occasion, 70 hour work weeks are the norm here which is NOT NORMAL by any stretch of the imagination. For researchers, a quick review of ScheduleIt will regularly reveal employees working at 500%, 800% or 1000% capacity! This will most certainly interfere with one’s work-life balance and additionally, will ultimately have a hugely deleterious impact on one’s physical health and overall wellbeing. If you do have the courage to raise the issue with a superior, be forewarned that it will be used against you moving forward. Buzzwords like GRATITUDE at all staff meetings sound nice but the implementation of this ideal is sorely lacking. As for ‘caretime,’ while likely well-intentioned in theory is most obviously a farce.
Any attempt to genuinely be a part of driving solutions will be dismissed completely. It seems as though company wide process improvement is of zero importance if not initiated by middle or upper management themselves. Again, another head scratcher as such desires are only intended to positively serve the company in tackling areas where pain points have long existed. These are not arbitrary improvements but those which are critical to the long term success of the organization. Non-managers are the ones most closely affected by these procedural flaws so extending that opportunity for everyone to have a voice and enact change is not only the logical thing to do but it should be welcomed whole-heartedly.
