Poor Management and Terrible Company Culture - Manager Hived Employee Review

Honestly, no pros come to mind. It started out decently, but everything went downhill fast. I met a few people who were pretty okay, but most of the staff were inexperienced and young (at least when I worked there).

Micromanagement, poor leadership, disorganization, favoritism… you name it. You were expected to work 24/7 with no direction, but with high expectations. They also had a high turnover rate, which I guess is typical for start-ups - still shocking!

HIVED itself seems like a fast-growing company with ambitious goals and some genuinely good people within the business. The onboarding and interview process initially appeared professional and organised.

Unfortunately, the actual role was completely misaligned with both my professional background and what was discussed throughout the recruitment process. I went through a lengthy 5-stage interview process for a Night Operations Manager position, yet at no stage was it properly explained that the role would involve almost entirely physical warehouse labour for 10+ hours per shift. The reality of the role consisted mainly of lifting and sorting parcels, labelling boxes, loading and offloading trucks, pushing heavy cages/magnums, and constant manual handling throughout the night. Had this been made clear from the beginning, I would not have accepted the position. The issue was not hard work itself, but the complete lack of transparency around the true nature of the role. The job title and interview discussions gave the impression of a more operational management-focused position rather than essentially working as a warehouse operative for the majority of the shift. After only 3 nights, I suffered back pain and leg strain from the physical demands and had to call in sick on my fourth shift. For someone coming from a professional operations and commercial background, the role simply was not aligned with my experience, expectations, or physical suitability.