The lowest point in my 35 years of working life.
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Okay, here is something positive to say. Giahi moves in a young, modern and fashionable world. The target group is exciting, interesting and dynamic.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The management does not have and does not give transparency, they try but they do not know how to do it. In addition, there is no trust in the employees. The decisions are unclear, ill-considered, have no logic and are made and taken according to the delusion of the day.
The management is fickle, which makes it difficult to work with them. Much is promised and agreed but in practice, nothing comes of it or it is changed again in a short time.
The management speaks highly of the possibilities for employees to develop their own initiatives. In practice, it comes down to the fact that you do develop a nice plan, but when the chips are down, your plan is pushed aside in favour of another (new and/or exciting) plan. In the period that I worked at Giahi, neither I nor my colleagues had any opportunity to carry out their own idea/plan/project.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
My advice is to bring in an external, strong and experienced entrepreneurial consultant to train and educate the management. Then to put what they have learned into practice and keep it that way. The entrepreneurial advisor keeps a finger on the pulse for a longer period of time to guide the management.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The atmosphere is tense and there is little motivation among the employees. The dissatisfaction of almost everyone hangs like a heavy fog in the company.
No matter how hard the management tries to instil positivity, enthusiasm, good vibes, etc. in the team if the basis is not right, the negative attitude among the employees remains.
Kommunikation
A term much talked about, but which nobody understands.
There is no (good) communication. All ideas, proposals, plans are sent via WhatsApp or Instagram. Email is hardly used.
There is hardly ever a response to a proposal, question, idea, plan, you name it. No matter what means of communication you use, extremely frustrating.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
It all works out fine between colleagues, the employees are friendly towards each other. But you are in trouble if you have to work with the managent. Pure chaos, resulting in frustrated employees.
Work-Life-Balance
A concept completely unknown to the management. You receive WhatsApp messages at the weekend or in the evening at 10.30 p.m. and sometimes you also have to respond to them.
You might think, then turn off your phone outside working hours. Well... It is not a company phone, it is your own phone which you are expected to use for work. And you don't switch off your own phone.
It is with this understanding that the ultimate reason for my dismissal comes to light. I have an employment contract with working hours from 08.00 to 17.15 hour Monday to Friday (including an obligatory lunchtime of 1(!) hour). Working longer hours now and then is not a problem for me, but working different hours every day is a problem, in the context of a good work-life balance with my private life.
Due to changes within the company, I was expected to adjust my working hours, without consultation. New working hours were from 10.00 to 19.00 hour. This would mean that I would be home around 20.45 hour. I would also have to work on Saturdays and take another day off...
So much for the concept of work-life-balance with Giahi.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
Moody, unpredictable and capricious due to lack of leadership skills. Input from professionals and/or experienced employees is not appreciated.
It is clear who the management likes and who it does not like. So, if you are not liked, you will be replaced sooner or later.
Employees come and go as if by magic and the strange thing is that management does not think anything of this, the reason is always with the person leaving.
The management uses empty words like punctuality, friendliness and an equal attitude towards each other, they expect this from their employees but they themselves do not practice it in any way.
Employees, therefore, have zero confidence in the management.
Interessante Aufgaben
As a graphic designer there may be interesting tasks, it is just insanely frustrating that the communication is so incredibly poor and that, at the end of the story, the project simply disappears, is "forgotten" or is changed.
The motivation to develop one's own initiatives disappears in no time.
In fact, you are no more than a "tool" of the management and you are not allowed to take responsibility (except for mistakes you did not make yourself).
Gleichberechtigung
If you take the equality between men and women, that is as it should be today. But the obvious favouritism towards employees who are friends and family is not right and frustrates the other employees.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
No idea, I was the oldest at the firm.
Arbeitsbedingungen
The conditions are catastrophic.
To the customers it all looks tiptop, the working conditions for the employees are a real disaster.
Most of the crazy, silly (and normal) materials are stored indefinitely.
In the employees' rooms (e.g. office) it is dirty, dusty, sloppy and filthy.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Not seen or found.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
You earn the minimum wage. In my case as a 56-year-old graphic designer: CHF 5,000 gross per month.
When you apply, you are told that if you do your work well, financial improvements will soon be possible. This has turned out to be an empty promise.
If there is no other way and you are a bit important for the company (e.g. a good tattoo artist), you will get just enough extra to keep you around for a while.
Furthermore, Giahi meets the minimum social requirements, which means no more than 4 weeks of holiday and no 13th month. It is not for nothing that so many employees ( office, shops, tattooists and piercers) resign: low wages, minimal social requirements in combination with a bad working atmosphere is enough.
Image
Customers: the turnover in 2020 was, despite the Corona crises, the best year in Giahi's 21-year history, so you could say that customers are quite satisfied.
Suppliers, on the other hand, are much less satisfied with Giahi; more and more companies no longer want to work with Giahi. There are reports of poor communication and payment arrears. Quote from the financial department of Giahi: "well, we only pay after the third formal notice".
Employees: almost all employees speak badly about Giahi.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
At Giahi there are no possibilities for this, no matter how loudly the management shouts or writes that it is possible...
Study: yes, there are possibilities to develop yourself further, but then Giahi doesn't want to pay for it, and you do this in your private time.
Career: career opportunities are nice words that are presented to you during your job interview, in practice you are nothing more than a work tool without a career future.