Support from leadership? Don’t count on it. Feedback is treated as a threat and met with retaliation in the form of micromanagement, public shaming, isolation tactics, targeted policy changes, and ultimately termination. The CEO is reactionary and has no poker face, so you'll know exactly what he's feeling at all times. Spoiler alert: it's hardly ever warm and fuzzy.
There’s no HR—just the CEO’s mood. Policies are written for his convenience, not the team’s, and if you ask for clarity, you are labeled as “negative” or “not aligned” and have officially started the countdown til you're out the door. The examples are endless and range from begrudgingly providing the bare minimum to parents and caregivers to cutting certain benefits, like the sabbatical, for some team members but not others.
The Chicago office is treated unfairly, with more scrutiny, different standards, and the expectation to cover their own travel costs for work events. Reimbursement takes ages, with every approval funneling back to the CEO anyway.
Advancement is possible, but it’s smoke and mirrors: you can get a VP title, but you'll still need permission to send a calendar invite. It looks good on paper, but it leaves you unprepared for real leadership elsewhere.
And take those glowing reviews with a grain of salt. Interns and new hires are asked to leave positive Glassdoor reviews to pad the company’s image. The same thing happened with the CEO’s book—employees were tasked with leaving glowing Amazon reviews for a book they hadn’t even received. That’s the culture in a nutshell: misuse of power, top-down control, and image over substance.
