The company's broad mission statement is to Make a Life, not just a living... but what they don't tell you is what type of life you are making for yourself as a worker bee meant to live for the hive mentality. They have perfected a formula of which to run a company on pure perception, divorced from the harsh reality that eerily strikes a chord similar to that of a cult. The majority of their staff is comprised of naive college educated, and professionally inexperienced, bright-eyed workers that are drawn to the "Do what you love" mantra. They are fed free breakfast, fresh espresso drinks, cold beer, more tequila than you can hold down to make workers forget that life is not just about work. You start the week off with a 12 hour TGIM, Thank God It's Monday, mindset where a mandatory meeting is held after work hours to encourage more team bonding. Mind you, most of this is a waste of your personal time under the guise of professional development. And if you do not play an active part in this process you will be an outcast, passively shunned for not "fully committing". Mandatory "fun" time doesn't end with the starting of each work week, as you are required to spend "vacation" days at company Summer Camp and Global Summits. These bleed into the weekends and are not up for negotiations. These tactics might lead you to believe that if you commit to this strategy you can get "ahead" in your professional development...and you'd be wrong. The simple fact is that you will not grow at this company unless you are as follows, in order:
1. Male
2. Israeli/Jewish
3. Are friends/family of an executive
Your daily efforts, whether filled with merit or ineptitude, amount to little because without proper leadership all this will amount to nothing. And this is where Wework truly fails to deliver. Fueled by a strong foundation of nepotism, cronyism, and sexism, many of the departments hinge on the incompetence of management/executives put in place and given irrelevant titles by the social formation of a "boys club." It was made, and continues to function, to further advance the successes of the CEO/executives; to receive more funding and make a name for themselves as leading the fastest growing "start up" in history. They only see the company's expansion as a means to an end and neglect any professional development of those who truly embody the spirit of doing what they love, but were cursed with the misfortune not being born into this "boys club." They break the backs of these hard believers so they can sell a false perspective.
This company is a vapid excuse for being "leaders" of the industry and they lure unsuspecting youth into their campaign of false promises of fulfillment. I know you'd like to believe in their mission, I desperately wanted to as well, but the reality is that this company will take advantage of whatever skills you possess leaving you questioning your own self worth.
My advice...look at the other telling reviews and know that good people have worked here and those same good people have LEFT... stronger, but unnecessarily scarred. Your efforts will be recognized, appreciated, and celebrated elsewhere. RUN!
