Culture turning toxic due to leadership and greed - XD Team Sage Employee Review

2.0
Oct 24, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people I work with - they make every day bearable. Decent salary. Modern offices that are fine when not at capacity!

Cons

— Progression “freeze” - there’s nowhere to go. Expected to level up, work at a level above yours, with no recognition or reward. You can be in the same role for years and years, taking on more responsibility - but no one will thank you and your role will stay the same. — Hypocritical policies. Claiming to be “human” and support neurodiversity and families yet at the same time laying down a blanket policy where everyone must work in the office 3 days per week, no flexibility, no debate to be had. To take effect in 2 months time. To quote a senior leader: “If you don’t like it then maybe Sage isn’t the place for you.” Actually, what I don’t like is having to be in a call centre-like environment on Teams calls with people all over the world. Trying to focus on a room full of chatter, at a desk I can’t even call my own. Oh and let’s not forget the abysmal traffic queues, the canteen that can’t cope with numbers, the poor Starbucks people who can’t cope with numbers either… yet the offices are in a business park with nothing else nearby! — Senior leadership (CEO, Head of Product) seem solely focused on making money, “high performance”, etc - meanwhile the CEO is on £4 million and isn’t trying to juggle a young family and full time work. Head of Product spoke to company like a room full of naughty schoolchildren. The entire culture seems to be turning toxic with these people in charge. Morale is very low and I don’t expect this to change unless management make positive changes.

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Sage Response
1y
We appreciate your feedback and have read through your comments. Please note that our hybrid working approach is an important element of the way we work at Sage that is complemented by other benefits such as paid time to volunteer, the ability to work away for up to 10 weeks a year and free well-being support tools. We recently also answered several colleagues' questions about the new 3-day policy. In doing so, we've shed more light on how colleagues will be supported as they adhere to our updated hybrid structure. More information about what we offer can be found here https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Benefits/Sage-United-Kingdom-Benefits-EI_IE1150.0,4_IL.5,19_IN2.htm - Thanks for taking the time to leave your review. We’ll continue to work hard to improve how we enable colleagues to thrive.

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5.0
Jun 21, 2026
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Pros

Work life balance is the strongest attribute at Sage. Family matters and mental stablity is supported. Top notch benefits.

Cons

Departments with mixed roles of similar tasks, yet separate teams without collaboration.

1.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

The only real positive is the people on the front lines. There are incredibly talented, hardworking employees who care deeply about customers and each other. Unfortunately, they're carrying far more than they should because leadership consistently fails to support them.

Cons

If you're looking for career growth, work-life balance, or leadership that values its employees, this is not the place. Promotions are rare, and when leadership positions do open up, qualified internal candidates are often overlooked. Watching knowledgeable, experienced employees repeatedly get passed over while less-prepared leaders are put in charge is incredibly discouraging. The reward for being a high performer is simple: more work. If you're competent, expect to take on responsibilities that belong to your manager, another team, or even leadership. You'll solve problems that aren't yours, train people above your pay grade, and be expected to clean up situations created by poor planning. Don't expect additional compensation or a promotion for doing it. Work-life balance is practically nonexistent. Being off the clock doesn't necessarily mean you're off work. Managers reach out through Teams and personal cell phones at all hours! They even joke about how funny is that mangers work at all hours around the clock. You also work a shift which "on-call" this includes evenings, weekends, holidays, and during approved time off. Boundaries are not respected, and saying "no" doesn't feel like a real option.The culture is driven almost entirely by metrics and fear. Employees constantly worry about being placed on performance plans, because it's a constant threat from managers. What's most telling is that even managers have admitted, in private, that they're afraid of losing their own jobs if they push back on this culture. If the people with more authority and more job security are working scared, what does that mean for the employees below them with far less protection? This isn't a management style — it's fear running downhill through the entire structure. Morale is incredibly low and it's nothing a pizza party can fix. Stress and burnout are so common that it feels like everyone either knows someone on a performance plan or someone out on medical leave because of the constant pressure/stress. Instead of asking why so many people are struggling, leadership seems to focus on numbers. Micromanagement is relentless they have even implemented "Workforce Management" PTO is managed by a system. Trust is talked about but rarely demonstrated. Even when you're the person repeatedly asked to rescue difficult customer situations or fix operational problems, you're still second-guessed and monitored every step of the way. It creates an environment where people are afraid to make decisions and are constantly looking over their shoulder. Training is another major weakness. New employees are expected to become productive quickly despite inconsistent onboarding and a training experience that often feels disorganized and unnecessarily confrontational. Instead of building confidence, it leaves people frustrated and dependent on coworkers to learn the job. The hardest-working employees seem to suffer the most. They work late nights, weekends, and holidays while carrying responsibilities well beyond their job descriptions. Over time, many become exhausted, disengaged, or leave altogether.

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