Toxic culture and workplace - Anonymous employee Handshake Employee Review

Culture It was a totally different experience between the interview process and actually working there. It was presented as an inclusive workplace but it’s actually extremely cutthroat and political. Don’t be fooled by the honeymoon period. Bro-culture mentality Very cliquey: Don’t expect to get along with everyone unless you’re a specific kind of personality. Gossip mill runs rampant: Don’t expect your managers to not talk about you behind your back, often in earshot of other employees Culture of fear: There’s no trust. It seems there was always the assumption (and sometimes accusation) that people aren’t doing their job. They say the pace is fast, but it’s really just chaos with constantly shifting goalposts. It often felt like psychological warfare where everything felt like a test and you were made to constantly doubt your abilities. Work-life balance There is no balance. You are expected to be there feverishly working late, then go home and work even more. Working weekends is needed to keep up and meet demands. Executive immaturity and lack of experience Garrett: the CEO has severe mood swings and you never know where you really stand with him. He plays favorites and over-indexes to pedigree, despite the company’s mission to democratize opportunity for people of all backgrounds. He doesn’t engage with executive women or female employees like he does with male leadership. He seems very arrogant, egotistical, elitist, and narcissistic. It feels like the company is run by executives that have no idea what they’re doing a lot of the time. There’s a general lack of executive direction, ownership, or commitment to a plan. Many managers are inexperienced and have poor people management skills. A word of warning: don’t join this company.