Unqualified Decision-Making and Fear of Job Loss
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
In my personal experience, some members of the leadership team seemed to have limited experience, which at times came across to me as insecurity and occasionally resulted in what I perceived as impulsive reactions.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
Trust in the expertise of employees, who were hired for that very expertise. Less control. Less hire & fire (which would probably be more cost-effective in the long run). More respect for employees—they are people with lives they need to finance, not NPCs that can be replaced at will. In the current economic climate, this is a no-go to me.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
I feel many colleagues experiencing fear of job loss. It seems as if selected confidants of the management have a great deal (too much) of control. In some cases, they seem to make decisions without the necessary background or education and give instructions to employed experts, which I found very unsettling. I feel micro-management down to the smallest detail in various departments, which unfortunately dampens the initial motivation for the job. There seems to be little trust in the employees' expertise. I often perceived arbitrariness in management decisions, which many colleagues struggle to understand and frequently discuss among themselves.
Image
I noticed public discussions about Grünhorn, including reports of legal proceedings mentioned by a competitor. Around the same time, a press release announced that approximately 10% of the workforce would be reduced, and I personally observed negative comments about the company on platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, and Google reviews. These factors contributed to my perception that the company’s public image was under pressure.
Work-Life-Balance
Due to numerous resignations (I feel like I’m in the book Krabat: "Who’s next?"), many tasks seemed to be redistributed among a few remaining colleagues, most of whom are highly dedicated. As a result, many perceived the workload as excessive; for example, some continue working after hours and have complained about a lack of work-life balance. In recent months, there seemed to be a very high rate of sick leave, which could be linked to this situation. HR’s response was to introduce a rule requiring all employees who call in sick to notify their supervisor personally. If that’s not possible, a representative must call on their behalf. This feels like excessive control to me. Additionally, employees must provide a doctor's note starting from the first day of illness.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
I have witnessed little opportunity for advancement and personally received no offers. My suggestions in this regard were rejected.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
As the saying goes, shared enemies bring people together. In this case, many colleagues seem to bond over their frustration with management—over seemingly irrational decisions, frequent layoffs, and more. But on the other hand, there seems no friendly culture amongst the colleagues. When I started the job, everybody seemed very cold at the same time, not really talking to me or inviting me to lunch as the newbie, which I had never experienced before in any other job. I also heard colleagues badmouthing others several times and experienced no trust.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
In my personal experience, I only met two older colleagues during my time at the company. One of them struck me as very kind and highly skilled, yet I observed that he sometimes had to follow instructions from younger colleagues mainly due to their job titles. To me, this came across as somewhat hierarchical and not very modern. The other was a temporary worker who, as far as I understood, had hoped for a permanent position, which unfortunately did not materialize during my time there. Personally, I found this disappointing and felt that more clarity and fairness would have been appropriate.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
The management's appreciation for the workforce's strong performance seemed repeatedly expressed through pizza parties, which often reminded us of circulating internet memes about "pizza party work culture." Unfortunately, I witnessed a lot of hire & fire, as around 10–20% of the workforce was laid off within a year. Some were let go for operational reasons, while many colleagues suspected that others were dismissed for expressing their opinions—something that, in my experience, was not particularly welcomed. I experienced very little communication in advance when tasks were assigned, yet at the same time, there were extremely specific expectations and micro-management from the leadership team. This included excessive control, weeks of nitpicking over color schemes, and constant interference in employees' expertise, which made the work feel unnecessarily exhausting. It raises the question of how the management finds the time to focus on such minor details. Additionally, various trusted individuals within the management team always had a say, which, in my view, makes agile (modern) working nearly impossible.
Arbeitsbedingungen
In my personal experience, the main office—located in a converted underground space with neon lighting and, in some meeting rooms, limited ventilation—felt rather uncomfortable and somewhat depressing to me. I also found some rooms to be very cold, which sometimes gave me headaches. There is another office in an industrial area that was a bit challenging for me to reach by public transport, but I appreciated that it had natural daylight.
Kommunikation
I experienced the communication as opaque and sluggish: Important information did not reach us, or only in small bits or too late, which made strategically important decisions more difficult. It felt very top-down and hierarchical to me at the same time.
Gehalt/Benefits
Through conversations with colleagues, I formed the impression that salary levels within the company might vary noticeably. I personally wondered why one very dedicated female colleague seemed to receive less recognition in terms of compensation, while some other colleagues (in my perception, mostly male) mentioned higher salaries despite what I felt was a lower contribution to shared projects. From my point of view, I would appreciate more transparency and adherence to the principle of 'equal pay for equal work' (see my point on equality).
Gleichberechtigung
During my time at Grünhorn, I personally observed that almost all leadership positions appeared to be held by men, which felt quite patriarchal and outdated to me—especially for a young company (as of 05.03.25). From my perspective, the top management team consisted entirely of men, and I did not personally meet any employees of color.
Based on conversations I had and information I received from colleagues, I formed the impression that some women seemed to earn comparatively less and might face barriers to advancement (a so-called 'glass ceiling'). At the same time, I heard some male colleagues in management mention significantly higher salaries. This is simply how I perceived the situation during my time there.