Busy place - Superintendent FBC Remodel Employee Review

This company has an amazing culture. It is a culture of personal growth and joy. If you are open minded and put in the work you will get more out of this place than Any other place I’ve experienced.

If you are not bought in the the core values you will not make it.

Only accept this job if you're BRAND NEW to the design world ("a greenie"). Be ready to take the things you learn here to another job because they'll either fire you without explanation or you'll quit in 6 months. If you're an experienced designer, don't waste your time with this company. Seriously.

CULT-LIKE ENVIRONMENT! I read lots of other staff reviews on here that said this company is cult-like, before I accepted the job. I should have listened! You know how when someone's in a cult and they don't see it or realize they're in one until they get out? That's literally this company. They shove their "core values" down your throat and you have to basically repeat the words on a weekly basis. Here are the common signs of being in a cult that I realized I experienced at FBC but never noticed or acknowledged at the time of working there: *High Turnover: A high rate of employee departures can indicate a toxic or cult-like environment. (We're talking 7-10 employees (at the same location) leaving or getting fired with only having worked there 6 months to 1 year! And it's a continuous cycle.) *Loss of critical thinking: Inability to question the group's teachings or authority, even when faced with evidence to the contrary. *Unquestioning loyalty: Devotion to the leader and the group's ideology, often at the expense of personal well-being. *"Love bombing": Intense affection and attention given to new members to foster dependency and loyalty. (They will buy your love for them, showering you with gifts at the beginning. That's how it all starts...) *Groupthink: A culture of conformity where critical thinking and dissenting opinions are discouraged. *Emotional dysregulation: Difficulty managing emotions, experiencing anxiety, depression, or even dissociation. (I can't even tell you how many times I had seen many different staff members crying, myself included) *Cognitive dissonance: Holding conflicting beliefs or values, which can cause mental distress. (Your beliefs & differentiating opinions don't matter because you're not an individual here, you are one-in-the-same as the team. You ARE the team.) *A tendency to romanticize the group and its leader. *A feeling of being special or chosen, leading to a sense of superiority. (They had me go through a phone interview and 3 in person interviews before getting the job. Talk about feeling "special" enough to have been chosen to join their "hard-to-get-into" only "the best of the best" club/cult) *A belief that the group's teachings hold the only truth. (1000% this) *A fear of leaving the group due to manipulation. *Charismatic Leader: A leader with a compelling vision who demands unquestioning loyalty and respect. *No Room for Questions: Critical thinking and dissent are discouraged, and employees are expected to conform to the group's beliefs and practices. *Unrealistic Expectations: Employees are expected to dedicate themselves fully to the organization, often working long hours with little regard for work-life balance. (They talk about how important work-life balance is, but it's all smoke & mirrors. Everyone works overtime here just to keep their heads above water & to feel accepted by the other members) *Black-and-White Thinking: The workplace may promote a simplistic worldview, often portraying the outside world a inferior. (They make it seem like FBC is superior to all other remodeling companies) *Lack of Transparency: Information and decision-making processes may be opaque, fostering distrust. (This one blew me away with how true it was) *Lack of diversity, equity and inclusion: “Cultish” organisations often enforce a homogeneous culture, requiring conformity and stifling dissent. Look around. How much room is there for individual expression? (This one's crazy true! On my first day at work I noticed I had the same hair color, height, and dressed similarly as the other 4 designers! I thought FBC just had a "type", but it all adds up to it playing a small role in the cult culture) *Corporate Stockholm Syndrome: In toxic workplaces, employees that have identified their workplace as toxic but have no intention of leaving, often have lost their sense of identity and accepted a distorted sense of reality where abuse and toxicity are normal at work. They may also feel they are contributing to “something bigger,” which justifies their suffering. *You find yourself in a bubble of “believers” *High energy weekly meetings to review progress. Monthly review sessions to recap the weekly meeting progress. Quarterly meetings to review the monthly meetings. Yearly meetings to review the quarterly meetings. This keeps them pumping the "we are here for you" chant, and keeps you feeling like you & the team are the same entity. *I could go on & on, but if you've read this far, I don't see any reason why you'd say yes to this company unless you're truly desperate. Just have a backup job already lined up for when they either kick you out or you take the red pill.