Refinery29 Employee Reviews about "manager"

Cons

Company is failing to scale and grow up healthily. In fact, its stagnant and hurting tremendously. This is leading to talent drain of capable people on middle management level. Which leaves less capable managers in the middle level therefore further negatively affecting non-managers. Its a vicious cycle. Majority of this stems from poor upper management on executive level. There have been a number of executive changes but more changes are needed. Especially true for cofounders. That said, its hard to hold anything against them because these are caring folks who spent almost of all career as entrepreneur and building a 100 million dollar business. They didn't spend decade jumping through corporate world going from company to company learning how things work at scale and what's effective or not for certain situations. Cofounders are doing what they believe is the best. But their best unfortunately is not good enough because they aren't growing fast enough to keep up with growth of the company and what it is demanded of executive level at 100 million dollar companies. Cofounders need to consider what Google did at certain stage with Eric Schmidt. Hiring an experienced CEO to run the business while cofounders release operational duties to focus more on what they are exceptionally good at. Being brand visionary, champion of women's causes, coming up with creative experiments. After certain time when cofounders have matured further with executive skills and experience, return to take the helm. Just like Google.

Cons

Unfortunately, working at R29 proves some harsh realities many of us don't want to admit about corporate feminism. Others here treat fellow female coworkers with disrespect and have outdated knowledge and viewpoints on everything from queer culture to sex positivity, to actual knowledge of what it means to be body positive, despite internal campaigns that promote all of the above. The message and direction from the company as a whole to what managers want to listen to and implement have such a disparity it's dismantling.

Cons

Rapid turnover No institutional knowledge Some people are paid so badly, it's heartbreaking. Especially when they're working 50-60 hours a week and very good at their job. Everyone is fighting for power and a lot of of people are collateral damage. Young and inexperienced managers who are not secure enough in their positions to support their reports. Management can't resist shiny new hires. It can leave you constantly paranoid that you're being cut out and fosters a toxic environment. There's some great stories being done but ultimately it's a content farm with clickbait headlines People who've been promoted too quickly and have no idea what they're doing. Hype machine, godspeed if you question it

Cons

Horrible management from top to bottom. They prefer anyone who's a 'cool,' pretty 'influencer' over people who are actually smart and good at their jobs. (This is what I witnessed over my 2+ year tenure there and has nothing to do with my departure.) This will be their downfall. It's laughable that they preach everything about 'looks not mattering,' but that's the exact opposite of what they practice at the office. Anyone who's not cool, trendy, conventionally attractive or unique-looking in a profitable way will be overlooked. They've also gone through several rounds of top-secret layoffs and 'restructuring.' Tons of managers are incompetent and got to where they are based on their looks/outfits.

Cons

-No cons that I experienced during my internship

Cons

Okay. So. Prepare for layoffs. Every year, they gut departments. Every.single.year. The fear is real when October rolls around. When budgets stop, lunches are cancelled, education budgets squashed, you KNOW that layoffs are coming. Doesn’t matter if they just opened yet another office in another city. Winter is coming. There is NO job security and while they tell you every four years you’ll get a month paid sabbatical, know that you probably won’t last long enough to see that sabbatical. Favorites are promoted to manager positions with NO experience or mentorship. Therefore many managers are stunningly inept, but there’s no one to guide them to help them do better so it’s not even their fault. Upper bosses come and go so often you’ll never have the chance to build a good working relationship with any of them. Departments are re-organized on the regular, leading to confusion. Meanwhile other workers who deserve upward mobility are never promoted due to favoritism running the show. Positions change willy nilly. Example: I was hired to be a manager, then when the manager I was going to replace quit (all part of the plan), the position was suddenly axed. I then was required to prove to junior level people why I deserve to have a senior title by still doing manager duties despite having no managerial authority (who wants to feel bossed around by a non boss, thanks for creating an awkward and frustrating work environment for no reason!) and that title NEVER CAME. Months rolled into a couple of years, no title DESPITE having twenty years of experience. I put up with it because the mismanagement was not actually in my immediate coworker’s control, and their hard working, kind attitudes made up for a lot of the problems. In short, we all made it work because at the end of the day we cared about the actual product. Otherwise, why even show up every day? But that added stress was idiotic and unnecessary and just more proof of inept managers. There’s also a reason why there are so few people here over the age of 35. In the entire company. Ageism is rampant here. The focus on millennials is almost pathological. Upper mgmt either does not understand they need senior people (because most of them aren’t actually senior either, pro-tip a handful of years of experience shouldn’t make someone a dept head or a director FACE PALM) or they just don’t want to pay the salaries for experienced staff. Maybe both. Managers now have no idea they’re making huge blunders because there’s no one with the experience to actually tell them they’re messing up. So how in the world can other junior staff expect to be better when their own managers are cluelesswhen their own managers are cluelesswhen their own managers arother junior staff expect to be better when their own managers arother junior staff expect to be better when their own managers are clueless and left that way? People in their 30s, 40s, & beyond aren’t a disease. We have insight & experience and know how to mentor junior staff. It’s like upper mgmt is playing house and this is just a silly game. Yet another round of layoffs decimating the technology department is a prime example of “we don’t know what we’re doing.” Young people playing at manager roles hired their own executioner, completely unawares. Expect more layoffs. That ticket has been punched. And expect managers to save their friend’s jobs over yours for no other reason than they like their friend. R29 is a snake eating its own tail. They don’t follow their own inclusive spin with the lack of POC upper managers and the lack of older women. If R29 cares so much about women they why don’t they hire more POC managers & older women and then pay their staff accordingly? Stop the high turnover. Treat people better. So if you ultimately decide to work here, use R29 for the experience, make connections with the good people here (there are stand up people here, despite the toxicity) and then get out. Use R29 the way it uses their empoyees, suck it dry for knowledge and leave, before they suck you dry. Do NOT work here for the pay or job security. Know what you’re getting in to, and do not wear the R29 cheerleader blinders or you WILL get blindsided.

Cons

- Overall, it's a high school popularity contest - The most incompetent managers are hired. My manager was probably hired because she knew 'the lingo' and the founders thought she was legitbly hired because she knew 'the lingo' and the founders thought she was legitbly hired because she knew 'the lingo' and the founders thought she was legit. - The majority of the managers lead by intimidation - Some of the people that are promoted into management positions are unqualified and inexperienced. I'm sure if these new managers were to leave R29, they'd be knocked back into their jr level roles. - Benefits are 'meh' and not much time off. - Pay is not equal across the board - some people were breaking their backs making peanuts while others are grossly overpaid to just 'hang out and talk the talk'.