Don’t believe in the “culture” hype. - Anonymous employee Directive Employee Review

1.0
Mar 13, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-unlimited snacks -remote option -pool table -“unlimited pto”

Cons

This place preaches and advertises their "culture"/"work-life-balance" online, but the reality is this: If you want true work-life balance, DO NOT WORK HERE. I promise you that all these perks they advertise -unlimited pto, snacks, remote option, etc. are not worth it. Also, unlimited pto does not exist. You are expected to get your work done ahead of time in order to take your vacation. So really, you’ll work 80 hours one week in order to get a whole week off. It’s all a facade. All a lie. Let’s talk about working remote - with this option, the CEO expects you to work even when you’re sick. Get this- we had a meeting about how one of our employees was going to have surgery and was STILL trying to work. Instead of the CEO acknowledging the fact that this employee needed to rest, he went on and mentioned, "this is why we have remote work, so that you don't have to come to the office when situations like this occur." How is that work-life-balance? If you're employee is going through surgery, you should expect them to rest. Not work, even if it's remote. Here’s how they work -They hire a bunch of post college grads (Now as interns, but you’re still doing the same work as a FT employee) because they know they can take advantage of you. They’ll burn you out in the process. They LOVE piling more work for you and giving you HOMEWORK! They use like 15 CMS tools. They are not consistent. They'll tell you to do one thing, you do it, and then you get in trouble for following their lead. They have a clear structure problem but they won’t admit it, instead, they’ll blame their employees. Lastly, let’s talk about directors. We have these one on one meetings that are EXTREMELY TOXIC. You’ll walk out those meetings feeling stupid. Let me quote “this is dumb, this is stupid, why did you do this.” There are ways you can provide criticism without being disrespectful. They hire directors that are not fit for the role, most of them have never even managed a team. At the end of the day, this place wants you to believe that they are trying to help you grow in your career, but the reality is that the CEO is trying to grow his empire and abuses/manipulates his employees to believe that this is for their own growth. Hey CEO, writing blog pieces to increase your site's organic traffic isn't really a growth method for my career. I'm not a writer. You should hire writers instead of having your employees do extra work that they didn't sign up for. Don’t apply here. There are so many other companies that will appreciate you and won’t kill you in process so they can get to the top.

avatar
Directive Response
7y
Hi there! This is Garrett Mehrguth, the CEO here at Directive, it’s not always easy to hear feedback like this, but I know we can learn from this as an organization and leaders, so thank you for your feedback. I do think it’s important though to point out that I truly have no idea where the reference to working when sick or working 80 hours a month comes from. It breaks my heart that my words were heard this way so I sincerely apologize. That’s definitely not our goal nor our intentions. I am truly sorry you felt like you did not have the ability to take vacations or you (or others) had to work while you were sick. Currently, for people reading this, we have multiple staff members on extended vacations and I love that our structures allow them to do this freely. As we get better daily, capacity will continue to be refined and improved. Feedback like this really does help! I think it’s important to mention also that we have the most humble, hard-working, talented directors on the market. It’s a shame that we couldn’t have this discussion to dive deeper into the heart of your concerns while you were here. I truly hope you find what you are looking for at your next opportunity. - Garrett

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5.0
Jun 16, 2026
Anonymous employee
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CEO approval
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Pros

Fast growing organization, genuinely sharp teammates & feeling that we're hiring the best of the best, real career growth, transparent leadership team.

Cons

High expectations but rewarding for those who embrace the culture and thrive in a fast-paced environment.

1.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

remote work is the only one

Cons

terribly disorganized no structure millions of slack messages a day as their singular form of communicating and it creates mistakes, oversight and backlogs meetings upon meetings with no outcomes everyone was running around like a chicken with head cut off i would advise against working here

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