The company places a low priority on relationships and social/emotional well-being.
This culture may appeal to those who favour solo, silo'd, heads-down, fast-shipping, code-centered work in the traditional style of a young Silicon Valley startup. If you need a collaborative, creative, thoughtful, purpose-driven workplace, this is not the place for you.
A few red herrings to be careful of:
- The word “autonomy.” While team members can technically direct their days, authority clearly belongs to leadership alone. Big changes to the team structure or business are done top-down, via Slack, with no consultation with affected teams. (It can be rather shocking and abrupt!)
- The focus on a “maker schedule” is well-intentioned (good for focus!) but can result in low trust and loneliness (especially for workers outside the UK / GMT).
- Though the tone of the handbook is quite thoughtful and patient, internally, there is not a lot of patience or time for deep thought. It’s as if they invested in “saying it once,” so they don’t have to say it again. The handbook is a reflection of efficiency, not vibe.