Toxic Management - Anonymous employee Haddad Brands Employee Review

The SVP on the creative services team/integrated marketing was the most difficult part of an otherwise great job. I’ll start off with a few things the team experiences. This has been brought to the proper departments attention but something always fails to be done. The team is constantly overwhelmed with tasks, many of which fall out of our roles. While it’s normal to work cross functionally, it becomes a problem when boundaries are consistently ignored and concerns are dismissed. There is a significant workload imbalance especially when it comes to responsibilities that should belong to other departments. Despite raising concerns multiple times, nothing changes. The response that is received has been dismissive and it often seems that the decisions made are based on avoiding conflict rather than supporting the team. Communication is another major issue within her team. Concerns raised are often labeled as “complaining,” which discourages open dialogue and creates an environment of silence. I’ve witnessed coworkers break down from being overwhelmed and unfortunately there’s little to no support or accountability at the leadership level. There’s also a lack of respect for personal boundaries. Weekend and off-hour texts are common, as is sharing personal contact information without permission. PTO requests and sick days are met with prying questions or passive-aggressive behavior, which makes people uncomfortable and anxious about taking time off when needed. She also uses unprofessional language when talking down on upper management and other coworkers. Additionally, the team was required to check out in person with her every day at 5:30 PM, which often delayed our ability to leave on time, even when our work was completed. This routine contributed to a sense of micromanagement and reduced flexibility in our schedules. There is more I can share but for now this is what I feel comfortable with sharing. I’m sharing this feedback not out of malice, but in hopes that it brings light to some serious cultural and managerial issues. This could have been an amazing workplace with the right leadership, one that values fairness, boundaries, and employee’s wellbeing.