Portrayed really well on the outside, but a complete mess on the inside
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The good things
Colleagues: Most of my teammates were great to work with. On a peer level, we really tried to do our best and get things done on time. Many of the superiors are genuinely talented and bring a lot of experience — there’s definitely something to learn from them.
Perks: Benefits like EGYM Wellpass and training opportunities are appreciated.
Excitement of a fast-growing company: The pace of product development can be thrilling at times, and it’s nice to be part of something that’s expanding quickly. However, that same pace often comes with instability and too many last-minute changes. This trickles down to the smallest of tasks.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Let’s start (this will be a long list, buckle up):
1. The forced work from office policy
Gets worse as the management doesn’t listen to feedback about giving employees some basic flexibility. A lot of us work with colleagues, customers or partners across different time zones and end up working late for meetings from our home. There’s zero room for flexiblity here and commute is a nightmare. No, most of us can’t afford to move closer to the office because the connectivity is so bad.
2. The dream shuttle offering
We are promised this possibility of a shuttle service while signing our offers but in truth, the company isn’t prepared to handle the volume of people dependant on it. There’s 3 options in the morning and 3 in the evening and they are full one week in advance. Not to also mention, evening shuttles being really late because the same vehicle goes back and forth. We need more options and ASAP. This is also not a criticism towards the office management team who are nothing but, absolutely wonderful. They aren't equipped by the management for the hypergrowth stage we are in and hence, most necessities are affected.
3. Lack of communication or taking feedback
I think the general culture leans towards the military style and if you want to stay or you leave the company if you don’t like the culture. The all-hands do have options for questions but none of us ask these kind of questions or give feedback because the atmosphere is as such. So resorting to public reviews like these should make the impact? It definitely leans towards the 'we talk and you listen' culture here. A lot of long-term employees are still here because of their faith in the products and vision.
4. Zero sense of direction and teams are taking a hit
Some of the teams are so badly hit with people leaving every month and being short stafff without hiring replacement on time. Long term employees are not valued and are forced to quit because they are not given the hike or promotions they deserve. Not to forget - barely any women on leadership positions and that really shows. If you are ready to work long long hours and are younger, this is the perfect company. People with children struggle to manage work along with driving or commuting long hours every single day.
5. New joiners are punished with a wonderful no WFH policy for 3 months
Will never understand this policy. Ridiculous and it feels like a punishment for deciding to join the company. A lot of employees work in roles which does not need mandatory office days and attend online meetings with colleagues in other locations. Once you finish three months, the wonderful once per week WFH kicks in.
6. Company parties on Saturdays
Annual summer parties happen on Saturdays and it’s voluntary but the pressure to be there and be seen is so high. The party locations are also in the middle of nowhere where you have to depend on others to get you there and to leave. In addition, no off was allowed in exchange for a Saturday party.
Edit: Leaving all the grammatical errors here as they are, because I had to write this just to vent at 10 p.m., when I could finally log out after finishing all the extra work piled up during the day. This is simply because I was making up for the time I lost commuting when the S-Bahn wasn’t functioning.
This is the horror story that awaits you here — with zero room for flexibility, where you constantly have to push back against rigid rules just to make a small change. The C-level really needs to listen to their employees. These are the people who work incredibly hard, and all they need is a bit of basic flexibility to have a life outside of work.
No, you shouldn’t expect us to be available 24/7 like you are — because we’re not on the same level, and we’re definitely not paid enough for that. I genuinely hope this review motivates other colleagues to speak up, because we talk about these issues all the time at work, yet we can’t voice them directly to the C-level due to their military-style communication.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more reviews like this. Working conditions are worsening, and management should start paying attention before more good people leave. The situation inside the company is very different from what’s portrayed outside.