1. Power struggles, favouritism and conflict happening at the leadership level are painfully and embarrassingly obvious to those of us lower on the food chain.
2. Company direction and focus is constantly changing, rendering OKRs useless and largely unattainable– yet this still affects our performance reviews.
3. Haphazard and rushed product launches are prioritized over working diligently to make desperately needed improvements to existing products. Surely, this is in pursuit of IPO and major losses due to a decrease in Covid sales. Best of luck with IPO when the walls are crumbling from the inside out. Many colleagues have expressed disinterest in exercising their own stock options.
4. Burnout is rampant and nothing is done to address it. People are leaving left and right- which is great for the business and should, at least somewhat, quell a fear of mass layoffs. They won’t need to do any layoffs at this rate. Leadership’s way of addressing burnout is by telling team members to try going for a walk everyday and asking everyone what their “best practices” are for handling stress. Sure, put it on the employee to figure it out rather than taking responsibility yourself. How dumb do you think we are? The company touts a love and support for all things mental health yet fails to provide a healthy working processes. But sure, send us calm strips in the mail and let’s see if that helps.
5. My own manager is more of a head piece than an actual manager. They take no interest and make no effort in getting to know individual team members, their strengths, weaknesses, or professional goals- and truly have no concept of what team building means. They are passive and insecure to the extent that they don’t realize their subordinates are the ones doing the managing- going above and around when possible to get things done because they won’t speak up for the team in front of other leaders- Which works out wonderfully for other teams and their agendas. The company does not provide employees with an opportunity to review their managers performance which is desperately needed.
6. Products supported by questionable science are said to be “science-backed”. But how does that matter if you have a marketing team which is given permission by leadership to prioritize profit and SEO over scientific and medical accuracy. This company is an example of capitalism at its finest. Business people are making “healthcare” decisions when they have no healthcare experience- which only mirrors the issues seen in the traditional healthcare model. There is no solution here. This company is creating products without first identifying a problem that needs to be solved. Products marketed to the ever gullible American consumer. And then leadership wonders why NPS scores are tanking.
7. Marketing and product rule this company. Marketing is also the reason why this company is still even standing. Whatever they want, they get. If you don’t get out of the way, you will get pushed out- regardless if you’re entry level or C-Suite. These teams are beyond difficult to work with and will make a mess of your priorities at any given moment.
8. There is no opportunity for upward mobility. If you’re interested in discussing professional development here, you will need the best of luck! You are expected to initiate that conversation on your own and hopefully you have a manager that will listen or make the time. Shoot, you’re lucky if you manager even has prior management experience. Raises are also minimal. What about a shout out or praise for the work you’re doing? Forget about it.
Newbie employees are often impressed by DEI and inclusivity efforts only to later realize it’s all lip service.
There are fundamental and ethical issues in this company and with its products that are leading me to look for work elsewhere.
