The entire staff is expected to work 50+ hour weeks (Lyde works a consistent 12+ hour day every day, plus weekends and expects similar from her staff), without exception. They seem to be unaware of the basic FLSA laws regarding non-exempt employees and pay a salary, rather than a number of their employee's entitled OT pay.
New staff is expected to return perfect first attempts at whatever they are asked to do -- this is after a cursory 30 minute to 1 hour training (if you are lucky, because none of the staff actually have the time to do proper training due to their own workloads). When you don't meet expectations, you become a pariah. And in my two months working at neta, I saw every single member of the team -- like a game of duck. duck, lose -- suffer this fate.
The culture is supposedly built around an open-office atmosphere, with no emails out of the office, and an eye to work-life balance ("we're just in a heads-down period right now, it will lighten up") but the reality is the exact opposite.
Work *is* life for Lyde, and while that is fine for her when she's worked solo in the past, expecting it from her team, especially when the promise is the opposite, is not right.
In my tenure at neta, I watched two employees quit or be fired. Then after glowing praise at my 30-days and a massive raise, I was let go after bringing up my desire (mentioned day 2) that I needed an actual work-life balance and work a 40-45 hour workweek. Then after being let go and offered to help transition out for the rest of the week -- which I was more than happy to do -- I was then notified after 1 more day that I should not return to work.
The current staff either beleaguered and just hoping things would change (after a year of them remaining this way), or newer employees buckling under the weight of the constantly increasing workload and never-ending demands.
Based on documentation, photos, stories, and other information, it was clear to me that the company goes through massive turnover every year. The longest-standing employee works remotely in San Diego, everyone else is around a year or under.
It's a massively volatile workplace, defined by the leadership. And it's no 'startup,' it's been running this way for 5+ years. It's a boutique agency which can't seem to crest growth past 10 due to how it's managed. It *could* be something bigger and better, and should have been by now if it weren't for some intrinsic issues.
If you do wish to work here, expect the hours, expect to have incredibly demanding requests made upon you, and expect to need to be constantly fawning and agreeing with Lyde. If that's within your wheelhouse, it could be a lucrative experience -- if that's what you're going for.
