CEO & CMO are out-of-touch cowards. DEI initiatives are hollow and insincere.
Pros
Money. Not much. But enough to get by as you dream of better companies.
Cons
On April 3rd, 2023, the CEO & CMO sent out a company-wide email announcing the end of remote work, and mandating anyone who lives within 50 miles of HQ to commute every day to work in-office. This blindsided everyone who isn't a VP or C-Level executive. Not only is this a huge blow, but the phrasing of the announcement was pretentious, cold, insulting, and completely detached from reality. According to executive leadership at Clearlink, remote workers are lazy and "significantly less productive" than on-site workers; which is a wildly offensive and false claim backed up by no data. But don't worry! James (CEO) and Jon (CMO) assured us that we have a whopping two weeks to prepare for this mandatory, distressing, and life-altering change. It's very important to them that we—their underpaid employees—know we can simply "buy another vehicle" if needed and "find childcare" if this change impacts our family/home dynamic. They also assured us all via email that mandatory on-site work is "better for mental health" and that we will understand that in time— what a lofty lie distributed by two truly delusional people. As a reminder, James and Jon are both millionaires with the privilege of working whenever, wherever, and however they want, and they think their underpaid lower and middle class employees should simply buy new vehicles and spend more money on childcare to accommodate this abrupt change. And that's apparently better for our mental health! According to James and Jon, suddenly increasing our cost to live and survive is somehow a mental health initiative. Oh, and our healthcare has taken a hit, as well. Rather Dickensian, isn't it? Let's unpack this mandate a bit more. If you're a Clearlink employee who lives within 50 miles of HQ, you're now expected to get less sleep in order to wake up earlier every morning, spend as much as three hours driving to and from work each day, pay more for vehicles and gas, budget for additional childcare, substantially increase your carbon footprint, and have less time to spend on your kids, partners, friends, families, errands, personal responsibilities, passions, and hobbies— all to accommodate one unnecessary mandate. This is an incredibly expensive and demanding change for anyone forced to endure it, but there won't be pay increases or monetary compensation acknowledging that differential. Hypothetically, if you live within the 50 mile radius but your colleague with the same title and salary does not, ask yourself: Is their salary really the same as yours? Are your benefits truly equal? Gas is expensive. Childcare is expensive. Commutes are draining and distressing. How is it fair to create a higher cost of living for some employees, but offer no compensation for it? Don't be fooled though; employees outside the 50 mile radius are impacted negatively as well. Most are worried about job security, as they've now been directly told by the CEO and CMO that they're lazier and less valuable than on-site employees. But at least they're not being instructed by two out-of-touch millionaires to suck it up and endure 100 miles of driving each day. Clearlink's culture has sunk to new lows every month since Clarke Capital's takeover. James (and his loyal underling, Jon) made this abrupt change after emphatically promoting the company as a "totally remote-friendly workplace" and accepting praise for valuing the health and time of their employees by offering flexible schedules. With April 3rd's blindside, they should have updated the company website and LinkedIn page to remove all claims of being remote-friendly and DEI-focused, but they haven't and won't. They'll just continue posting pay-to-play articles and announcements about how awesome, cool, and compassionate the CEO is (solely according to him and his economic "equals") as the company lays people off and hurls grenades at their employees' mental health. It's worth noting that the company went completely remote in 2020 in response to the global pandemic. They sold the HQ building in Salt Lake City and all employees gratefully switched to remote work. Then in 2022, James Clarke/Clarke Capital decided to randomly spend an absurd amount of money on a ritzy new HQ location filled with so-called "perks" for on-site employees. Shockingly, this didn't entice more than maybe 25 people to work in-office. The new HQ was an expensive vanity project by a CEO who prioritizes his image over his employees. And now that so much money has been sunk into a building nobody wants to use, James Clarke/Clarke Capital has decided to force us to. That's right. To make up for this terrible business decision, the company is recouping money by laying people off and forcing the rest of us back in-office— sacrificing our health and time in the process. Clearlink poses as a diverse, inclusive, and mental health-conscious company, but all DEI initiatives are hollow and insincere. As leadership strategically posts pictures of the very few minorities they employ and advertise as a remote-friendly workplace, please know that Clearlink is actually a fully on-site company severely lacking in diversity. Unless you're a C-Level executive or VP, you'll be paid less than you're worth, offered zero opportunity for growth, and required to sacrifice your health and happiness. I know several colleagues who have worked tirelessly for over five years at Clearlink, but have never once received an increase in pay. Managers and Directors work tirelessly to advocate for their people, but executive leadership is so lacking in quality people-management that everyone else is left picking up their slack and accepting dismal pay. Unless you brown-nose the right VPs and C-level executives, and enthusiastically accept regular punches from them, you won't find yourself or your work acknowledged— let alone appreciated. Clearlink was already leagues behind when it comes to genuine DEI efforts and initiatives, but this new mandate really solidifies the company as one that will never actually walk the walk. Executive leadership will continue hopping on LinkedIn to pat themselves on the back and pretend they're running a diverse and inclusive ship, but the truth is that executive leadership is 100% white and the company as a whole is 97% white. If you're BIPOC, queer, disabled/differently-abled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, a caregiver, or a single parent, Clearlink does not and will not value you. In fact, they'll blindside you with life-altering mandates and present them as if you owe them gratitude. Steer clear of this company. Since the latest mandate was announced, every single colleague I know has been updating their resume, asking around for LinkedIn recommendations, and actively looking for new jobs. Clearlink is speeding down a regressive path, and it's well past the point of return now. If you're a current employee like me and you're reading this because you came to Glassdoor to see if the April 3rd announcement has impacted the company's rating, please take the time to write one as well. As you know, the CEO reads here often and very much cares about his public image. It's important to add legitimate feedback to combat the inevitable fake positive ones to come. If you're a prospective employee or applicant, be wary of the positive reviews here. It's widely suspected at Clearlink that upper executive leadership adds fake positive reviews to prevent the rating from dipping any further than it already has.
