One word. Toxic.
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
- Access to fitness equipment and local gyms.
- Free coffee.
- Flexible working hours.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
- One department appears to have more control than any other.
- Bad attitudes of some can be very toxic.
- Support for technical problems was very poor.
- Support for employees wellbeing was very poor.
- Corona pandemic response was shameful.
- There is no trust between the management and the employees.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
- Invest in soft skills training and team building.
- Employ more women in general, but especially in managerial and tech positions.
- Set clear working principles and stick to them.
- Reconsider the current top-down hierarchy.
- Establish a workers council.
- Install at least one female-only toilet.
- Make home office a regular thing for all office based employees.
But ultimately please note this:
Employees are people; they are individuals powered by emotions. When we feel cared for, we give back, we are more invested and we also care more.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
When I first started I was surrounded by passionate, inspiring, kind and extremely talented people. With major alterations at the start of 2020 everything changed and sadly not for the better. I used to love my job. I thought working at milon would allow me to help people become healthier, happier and fitter. But it soon felt like no one cared for the workers and their health and happiness.
Firstly, home office was only introduced when the government made it law and then it was immediately lifted once the country came out of lockdown. It felt like there was no trust in the workers and that there was always someone looking over our shoulders. I felt like I was constantly being watched and I could not focus on my goals because of this.
Secondly, a change in the management of my team made me feel very uncomfortable. The work atmosphere was so horrible that I became nervous about coming to the workplace. I requested to change teams but it was emphatically denied. Afterwards, I spoke to the teams I requested to transfer to and they were never even informed of my request.
Kommunikation
In short: The words told one story, but the actions told another.
There are a few examples, but I will write the most personal one to me. Also please see the last paragraph of my "Arbeitsatmosphäre" entry.
I was put into Kurzarbeit without being informed. I was still working full time and the scheduling for the next few months also stated I was to work 100% of the time. Then I became ill and discovered my sick payment was at the "kurzarbeit" rate. I argued for several weeks that I was entitled to the normal rate and in the end, I had to seek legal advice. The legal advice confirmed I was owed the normal sick rate.
Long story short, milon eventually paid me the money I was owed but noted it was not because I was entitled to the payments, but because they did not want to end on a bad note.
The 2 months it took to sort this out was so stressful and completely unnecessary.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Although I made good friends with many colleagues there were definite divisions between certain people. When I started there was a huge emphasis to integrate new members and externals, but only because of the efforts of certain individuals.
When I had technical issues I was nervous to ask for help. The attitude that I was met with was cold, rude and passive-aggressive. I felt often like an inconvenience and even when I tried to offer help regarding my personal connections to Apple, the response was several weeks of silent anger. To me when working as a team we must put personal issues aside and try to get the best out of each other's abilities to produce an amazing product, especially in a highly competitive industry. Well, this response felt very personal and very unprofessional. It blocked workflow and spoiled cohesion amongst colleagues. Simply put, it was toxic.
Work-Life-Balance
One is allowed everything under the law. During the lunch break, we used to play table soccer, but this was soon forbidden. This greatly affected team morale.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
One department appears to be given more control than any other.
My management changed during my time at milon. I felt bullied and manipulated on a number of occasions. Soon I was extremely scared and I felt threatened in my job. I even broke into tears during one meeting and those whose responsibility it is to care for employee wellbeing made no effort to recognise or resolve my problems, they did not even pause the meeting when I was visually very upset. I felt humiliated and ashamed.
Interessante Aufgaben
I loved my assigned tasks because they were my passion. I got to work across several projects which I loved because it meant I could learn more and become more dynamic. However, sometimes I felt a little overwhelmed with the workload. Furthermore, towards the end of my time working at milon problems with technical support, micromanagement and poor communication aggravated issues.
Gleichberechtigung
Whilst working at milon comments which I would categorise as racist and sexist where expressed in my presence.
I come from a country of affluence and I do not appear like the average immigrant, since my skin is fair and my eyes blue. But I am still an immigrant and those not fitting the "white profiling" should be judged the same way as any of us.
There are simply not enough women in managerial positions. Most of the time I was the only woman present at meetings. The lack of the female voice seemed odd to me since the majority of our users are women. Furthermore, there is only 1 female toilet in the Emersacker factory/offices. This toilet is also used by visitors(both male and female) and I witnessed several times male employees using it out of convenience.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
There is much respect for older colleagues. The older colleagues I spoke with often enjoyed trying out their English skills and teaching me Bairisch or Schwäbisch. They seemed very happy in their job and had been there for many years.
Arbeitsbedingungen
It's ok. There is a good coffee machine and one nice thing is the fitness equipment milon produce is available for employees to use.
The 1 female toilet which is also shared by male visitors and some lazy male colleagues can be a major issue at times. Perhaps if women were respected more at milon the company would invest in at least one PRIVATE FEMALE ONLY toilet.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Many colleagues are provided with a company car - even those living in the local villages and whose role does not require them to visit faraway customers.
I read here that milon offers some kind of bicycle scheme, although this was never spoken about in my time.
Their response to the corona pandemic was very poor and did not take into consideration the wider responsibility of reducing the spread of the virus by reducing contact and staying at home. Whilst most companies in Germany have implemented home office till the end of the year. The first working day after the lockdown was lifted we were expected to be in the office. It did not matter if that meant you had to travel a long time via public transport, you absolutely had to be there. For some roles, this is perhaps necessary, but for those who only require a laptop and a wifi connection, it just does not make sense to make this demand.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
I was quite satisfied with my salary. Employees can also access a free gym membership for certain gyms in Germany.
Image
Their fitness equipment looks really cool when you see it in gyms and training facilities next to its competitors. Nonetheless, their image is a bit old fashioned and could really deal with a good update.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
Nothing was offered to me.