Code3 reviews about "pto"

I joined Code3 in January 2026 because I was excited about the programmatic team. Based on my interviews, it sounded like a growing agency with great opportunities and exciting clients. Unfortunately, my experience was the complete opposite, and it was by far the worst agency I've worked at. The biggest issue was the complete lack of onboarding. On my first day, I was handed accounts that had already gone through four or five different account owners in less than six months because turnover was so high. There was very little documentation, almost nothing saved in shared drives, and very little historical context about campaigns or previous strategic decisions. I was essentially told to take over the accounts and figure everything out on my own. What made it even more concerning was that every new hire I spoke with had the exact same experience. There wasn't a structured onboarding process—just an expectation that you would somehow piece everything together yourself. Within my first month, I was assigned to prepare a comprehensive 2025 annual business review for a client, despite having just joined in January 2026. I explained to my manager that I would need help because I wasn't involved in any of the work from the previous year and had very little context. Unfortunately, I received little support. I spent weeks working 12+ hour days trying to reconstruct an entire year's worth of performance and build a narrative from scattered information. During a client meeting, I was asked why certain decisions had been made in 2025. I honestly explained that I wasn't with the company at the time but would investigate and follow up with the answer. After the meeting, leadership criticized me for saying that instead of providing support or acknowledging the impossible situation I had been put in. That interaction summed up the culture. Leadership was quick to point out mistakes but rarely stepped in to help solve problems. It often felt like employees were expected to absorb the blame for organizational shortcomings. The workload was also unsustainable. I regularly worked 12+ hour days and many weekends simply trying to understand my accounts while keeping up with day-to-day responsibilities. There were multiple occasions where I was questioned about why I wasn't using certain platforms, despite nobody ever training me or even mentioning that those platforms were part of our workflow. Discovering critical tools by accident instead of through onboarding became a recurring theme. The best way I can describe my experience is that it felt like being blindfolded, thrown into the ocean with an anchor tied to your feet, and being expected to find your way back to shore. I left after three months because the constant stress, lack of support, and unrealistic expectations had taken a significant toll on my mental and emotional well-being.

Senior level and c-suite are really out of touch compared to the rest of the company hard to get promoted bonuses do not exist ever since the company keeps losing clients you will be expected to do 5-10 roles outside of your actual job description

This was, without question, the most damaging work environment I've experienced in my career. Within my first two months—while I was still onboarding—I was reviewing a recorded client call to gather information for one of the many accounts I had recently inherited. Before the meeting had officially begun, the recording had already started, and an Associate Director and a Director were having a conversation about me. They questioned my competence, reliability, and trustworthiness, using language that, from my perspective, reflected bias rather than an objective assessment of my work—especially considering how new I was to the organization. Instead of receiving direct coaching or feedback, I found out what senior leaders thought of me by listening to a recording I was reviewing as part of my job. From that moment on, my trust in leadership was gone. I never felt like I was given a realistic opportunity to succeed. New clients were assigned so quickly that I barely had time to learn one account before taking on another. I routinely worked 15+ hour days just trying to stay afloat. At the same time, I was expected to build comprehensive year-in-review strategy presentations for businesses I had just inherited, with little historical context, limited documentation, and, in some cases, without the data needed to perform the analysis. Leadership didn't seem to fully understand the situation until they joined client calls themselves. Once they saw how the accounts had been transitioned and what information was actually available, it became clear that many of the challenges employees were facing were built into the way the organization operated. I have no issue receiving feedback when it's deserved. What became frustrating was watching systemic problems repeatedly be framed as individual performance issues. The instability never stopped. I had five different managers in roughly six months. Expectations changed constantly, priorities shifted week to week, and consistent coaching was nearly impossible. During the same period, there were repeated layoffs and significant turnover. Despite that, the company continued holding large company-wide events. As an employee watching coworkers lose their jobs while teams were stretched beyond capacity, those priorities were difficult to understand. HR also failed to build confidence. During my time there, HR promoted itself as an open-door resource while also openly talking about enjoying workplace gossip and drama. Whether it was intended as a joke or not, it made me think twice about bringing forward concerns. Employees need HR professionals who solve problems—not people looking for the latest tea. As a Black professional, hearing senior leaders question my competence only two months into my employment—while I was still onboarding and working extraordinary hours—reinforced many of the workplace challenges Black professionals often describe. I can only speak to my own experience, but I never felt I was given a fair opportunity to establish myself before my abilities were called into question. Eventually, the stress became overwhelming, and I had to take a medical leave of absence. No job has ever affected my mental health the way this one did. Before accepting an offer, ask detailed questions about onboarding, workload expectations, manager turnover, and how new employees are supported. My experience was one where I was expected to perform at a high level immediately, often without the context, resources, or stability needed to do the job well.

False sense of care, Unorganized company, Constant layoffs Fake wokeness, Lack of accountability, long hours, lack of support

Losing clients. Top heavy with management brought in from exec’s past company. No clear direction on how to win

- ELT is very out of touch with what the actual day to day work is and what their teams do - The ample PTO & paid holidays is nice in theory, but for those who work directly with clients, it usually still means checking in on days off or work just piles up and once you're back in office you have even more to do - No one takes accountability; the same issues will be brought up to management over and over, yet nothing is done to fix the issues - Training is minimal, especially when people become managers who have never managed people before - In general, most employees are overloaded with client work and the work/life balance is nonexistent - No clear steps or actions outlined to be promoted so promotions feel unattainable, yet people from outside of the company will be hired in at higher positions than longstanding employees - Fully remote and can feel like you're isolated

Layoffs are constant. At least once a year leading to extreme burn out and fear “I’m next” mentality

Are you tired of predictable employment, reasonable workloads, and organizational stability? Then look no further than Code3, where every day feels like a thrilling survival challenge! At Code3, layoffs aren't unfortunate events they're part of our culture. Why settle for job security when you can enjoy the excitement of wondering whether you'll still have a paycheck next quarter? As coworkers disappear, don't worry you won't have to pick up some of their work. You'll have the privilege of picking up all of it. Watch your workload double or even triple while being held to the exact same performance standards as before. After all, your bandwidth, capacity, and personal boundaries are merely suggestions when "doing what's best for the business" is on the line. Lost a client because you're now doing the work of three people? That's the beauty of our accountability program: somehow it's still your fault. The resulting loss of revenue then leads to more layoffs, which creates more understaffed client teams, which leads to more unhappy clients, which leads to more lost revenue. We call this our "self-sustaining business model." Looking for strong leadership? Great news! While frontline teams desperately need more junior-level talent to actually perform the work, leadership continues investing in what truly matters: additional C-suite executives. Because what every struggling agency needs is another highly compensated person to explain why everyone else needs to work harder. And if you're concerned about performance issues among certain members of leadership and client services, particularly the men who seem permanently protected despite repeated concerns? Don't worry your feedback will be treated with the utmost care and attention before being promptly ignored. New hires will also love our revolutionary training program, which eliminates unnecessary onboarding. Why waste valuable time teaching employees when they can be speaking directly with clients and handling client work by Day 2? Sink or swim isn't just a philosophy it's our entire learning and development strategy. Hard work and dedication are highly valued here, which is why you'll constantly be told how indispensable, critical, and amazing you are. Recognition may not come in the form of meaningful compensation, resources, staffing support, or career growth, but you can rest assured someone will call you a "rockstar" before assigning you another project. Speaking of growth, promotions are absolutely available. The title changes. The responsibilities increase. Your day-to-day experience remains exactly the same. It's a truly innovative approach to career advancement. Overall, I would not recommend this agency to anyone seeking stability, growth, support, training, recognition, or a sustainable workload. If you're looking for an endless cycle of lost clients, lost revenue, lost employees, and increasingly unrealistic expectations, however, you've found your dream workplace. As for the agency's future? Let's just say I'd recommend enjoying the experience while it's still around.

- Management has no idea what’s going on. -Issues need to be flagged 10 times before action is taken, and that’s if it is ever even taken. - They preach about mental health and work life balance, but I can’t even begin to count the amount of times myself and others have worked 10-15 hour days. - No promotions unless you are a clear favorite. - Expected to work LOTS of overtime. - Lots of layoffs. - Having to work during PTO. - Expected to work on company holidays and weekends. - Expected to work while your sick because there’s no coverage. - Expected to pick up the slack of higher ups. So many cons I can’t even list them all, but it’s hard because the clients are great and it is a fun place to work. Your peers will care about you and your well being, but upper management won’t. I loved working here when I first started but about a year and a half in it just started to spiral down hill. The company was loosing clients, layoff after layoff, poor management, lots of employees in higher roles that didn’t even work, etc.