A company failing its employees with conflicting values: compassion vs capitalism.
Pros
Catered lunch, optional daily meditation sessions, and the occasional office event help give the company a more startup-y feel. Weekly all-staff meetings and an open floor plan help provide a sense of transparency within the company. Some of the staff are great and talented people, who are really dedicated to improving the health and happiness of the world. Unfortunately, these people aren't the ones holding executive positions.
Cons
The benefits are just a lure to get people in the door. Once you're in the company you'll realize that the culture is all about performance and the transparency is just an illusion. Real decisions are made behind closed doors and later enforced with varying degrees of backlash. Turnover is unbelievably high. MUCH higher than similar types of companies at this scale. High profile employees sometimes disappear overnight and are never spoken of again, unless it's in a hushed whisper over a cup of tea or in some off-handed insult about how they didn't cut it. Friends are guided out through the back door which sends a message to other employees to keep up their own performance. The executives recognize a general disdain among the workforce and claim that it's not fair to them. They ask their employees to simply stop being toxic and to forgive them. And you better forgive them, too, because if you are unhappy you are guided out of the company. The time it takes to listen to an employee's concerns and determine a proper plan is simply too great a cost. It's cheaper to replace you. The underlying tone is "keep up and agree with us, or get out." They'll never admit to guiding people out of the company. They prefer to craft the narrative that they're trying to maintain the employee's happiness and success, but message they really send is loud and clear. The management's official response is that it's "up to you" to enforce your own balance at work, but success is defined as achieving 70% completion. If you're the type to push for that 100% then there is no room to enjoy the fun little benefits. There are incentives for employees to push beyond the 70%, creating a very clear choice to make: you can earn a lucrative incentive by pushing yourself, or you can enjoy that espresso and a meditation session and leave on time. If the financial incentive isn't enough, then you might be swayed by the company's value of Selfless Drive. Employees are encouraged to work selflessly to accomplish the mission. I truly believe that people should push themselves. I believe that companies should set the bar just beyond reach. But at Headspace, this is taken too far. To the point of exploitation. At Headspace, objectives are more important than employees.
