Let me begin by addressing the exploitative operating model wherein they only hire recent graduates without experience. This contributed to a team environment that lacked a layer of qualified, experienced management that can adequately support your development (beyond onboarding and operational training). This whole structure was further crystallised by the fact that there is an aggressive turnover of staff after the 12 month mark (as employees are made aware of the deficits of the company structure). The employees who were your direct managers only had at most two years of experience above the newly graduated and freshly hired. As a consequence, there is no mid- to senior-management that can advocate for your growth and development in the company. All decisions flowed through the C-suite. Although this company would advertise progress, there are no programs or pathways out of the production engineering team, and the workflow is wholly operational with minimal room for actual engineering or innovation, which was gatekept by those most senior at the company. Further, because there is a deliberate lack of progress, there are minimal pay increases even with increasing responsibility and pressure.
Outside of the work itself, during "team-building activities", senior management would demonstrate uncomfortable behaviour towards other female employees. Unfortunately, there was no HR team, and as such these issues were never resolved due to the obvious power dynamic between the ones participating in the uncomfortable behaviour, and those who were experiencing it. Further, all these "team-building activities" would revolve around excessive drinking and employees that didn't participate were generally did not pass probation (for reasons unknown).
Whilst I believe that the team members themselves was great, the toxicity of management, the constant promise of progress without delivery and the substantive disregard for flexible working (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic) poisoned my experience and my perspective of this company.
