Although Customink does indeed have some cool features, it's nothing really unique. All the "cool stuff" like the free snacks and company events are ultimately overshadowed by the fact that working here is miserable. I'd rather have to wear business clothing and bring my own lunch to work than have to deal with the clear mismanagement that is prevalent at Customink.
-Employees are severely underpaid. Many have to live with roommates and/or take a second job on top of the 40+ hours they work at customink due to the low pay. The company's logic is that since we get free lunch once a week, and working here is "cool," we don't need higher pay.
-The mandatory overtime is obviously a huge complaint, but in some departments, it's used as a punishment. Employees in the printing department were seen talking and "hanging out too much" so they were forced to come in at 3am and work overtime for the entire week. Many of these people have children and responsibilities to attend to but the company doesn't care.
-The company provides paid time off, but they severely restrict when and how it can be used. Employees are guilted into not even taking time off when sick -- we're told to "think of the team."
-Managers are young and extremely under trained. They have the power to be "innovative" and make big decisions for the team, but ideas are often not thought about carefully, and changes in the company are constant and clumsy. Any time there's a change (about once a week), there's a major tech issue, mass confusion, and mismanagement. Managers often don't have the answers regarding the changes they helped implement. Even serious issues like sexual harassment are extremely mishandled.
-The problem with management is that promotions aren't offered based on achievements, performance or intelligence - they're offered based on personality. The more person who applies for a promotion will get the job. Bribery with gifts, baked goods, and personal favors are not out of the question.
-The company offers performance-based raises every few months. Every little thing we do is tracked and if you're productivity and accuracy are high enough, you'll earn a small raise of about 5% -- or that's what they tell you at least. The company tries to stick to a contrived "fun environment" where the "fun" is literally forced. If an employee doesn't participate in games, potlucks, dress-up days, and pep-rally style meetings, they won't receive the raise that they earned through performance. Some people just want to come to work and do a great job, but they lose out on money because they don't want to do Easter egg hunts, Secret Santa gifts, pajama day, onesie day, or "dress like a geek" day. We're treated like literal children, which is fitting, because management is so basic.
-Being unhappy at customink is absolutely not allowed -- after all, its a "Great Place to Work" according to many. If someone is unhappy with one of many pointless changes in the company, they get in trouble. If someone fills out one of the many surveys the company sends out and marks their job satisfaction low, they get in trouble. The company uses surveys and weekly one on one meetings with management to gather information on employees -- we're told these things are a safe space to be 100% candid / anonymous and share our true feelings in a casual environment. However, that's simply not the case. If someone shows even a thread of dissatisfaction, it will affect possible pay raises, promotions, and annual reviews. Basically, if you have a bad week, it goes on your permanent record.
-While the company is very oppressive for "team members," managers have it much easier. Customink pays for regular events for them like Happy Hours at local bars, manager retreats (they all go stay in beautiful cabins in places like Lake Tahoe), dinner parties, free lunches, etc. Management never solves problems because they all have the same idealist outlook and personality. Meetings are literal echo chambers.
-Managers are also never around to support the team. They attend pointless meetings such as "brainstorming sessions" in which they come up with "ideas" - work related or not. Anything goes. They also have a weekly Book Club where they go to a coffee shop and talk about a book during office hours. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is toiling away with every movement and conversation meticulously tracked by the company. We don't get extra breaks or meetings, and there's not much free time. As mentioned before, we're discouraged from taking time off even when sick, but most managers show up to 2 hours late and leave early every single day. My manager shows up 10 minutes late & leaves about 45 minutes early every day but I had to have a serious meeting with him because I took 4 days off due to a major respiratory infection.
-All in all, working at customink is exhausting and not at all worth it. There are jobs out there that will actually pay you what you deserve without all the games. Employees are sapped of energy and creativity and forced to be compliant in a system where management hardly knows what it's doing. Change is constant and clumsy. Many wrote it off as "growing pains" but it's much worse than that. Whenever a change is rolled out, nobody has the answers as to what is actually going on. Management often promises to follow up with details, but they never do.
-On top of it all, the work/life balance is horrible- between mandatory overtime that is often added with no warning, unpaid emotional labor, and high social expectations. Employees are punished for doing things outside of work - posting negative things on social media, drinking too heavily on the weekend, cussing during lunch or after work, or searching for other jobs. If someone tries to leave Customink, many managers won't act as a reference because it's company policy to try and stop people from quitting at all costs.
