Toxic Environment & Unethical Practices - Designer Garan Employee Review

Working at Garanimals was an incredibly negative experience. The environment was toxic and abusive, particularly in the way they handle their creative process. Unethical Practices: The company’s primary strategy is to copy other retailers’ designs. Employees are explicitly instructed not to create original designs but to change copied designs just enough to avoid lawsuits, which happen fairly often. Leadership unfairly blames subordinates when issues arise and sometimes threatens to fire employees. Poor Communication and Planning: There is a severe lack of communication and project planning. Last-minute, poorly planned projects are frequently proposed, often late on Fridays at 5 PM, showing no respect for personal time. Intellectual Property Violations: Leadership had unauthorized access to another retailers’ server and regularly used their work, passing it off as their own. This blatant disregard for intellectual property and ethical standards is deeply troubling. Nepotism and Lack of Accountability: Certain relationships in leadership created a significant conflict of interest and a lack of accountability. Employees cannot raise concerns due to fear of retaliation, as it is commonly known that they turn on employees for petty reasons. Invasive Monitoring: The company installs major spyware on employee laptops, leading to extreme micromanagement. Employees' work is constantly monitored, and goals and responsibilities are frequently changed, with more tasks arbitrarily added to their workload. High Turnover Rate: There is an increasingly high turnover rate. Leadership reorganization happens frequently, and the latest leadership remarked that teams were overpaid, despite most salaries being under 100k in New York City, which is insufficient given the high cost of living. Many “overpaid” employees were fired with no severance. Unreasonable Expectations: Employees are expected to be available 24/7, 7 days a week, with little regard for their personal well-being or yearly raises to keep up with inflation.