When I began working at Houzz, I thought I had hit the employment jackpot mostly because of the “pros” I listed above but also because when I started I felt like I joined a company with a culture that was one of a family and would help me learn and grow as an individual and professional. Unfortunately, those feelings didn’t last very long because soon I came to realize there were a lot of problems that made working here MISERABLE. The biggest problem I encountered at Houzz that contributed to a negative work environment was poor management. From my experience, 98% of the people who hold management positions at Houzz are not qualified to do so because they have no experience or training to be effective managers. Houzz has fallen victim to the fallacy that individuals who are strong in their field make good managers. Without the natural leadership and management skills or proper training, a manager may be able to manage and delegate projects, but he or she will not be able to do the people management portion of their job effectively. This issue has created a lot of tension and frustration across teams and throughout the company because whether you have an issue with the types of projects you are working on, a fellow coworker, or your personal development, the poor management here have no idea how to handle any of these situations appropriately making employees feel undervalued and misunderstood.
Frequently, when issues are brought to management and HR, they are swept under the rug instead of addressed. Employees who voice their concerns are turned away with incessant excuses, so, naturally, these issues continue to get worse and again, employees are left to feel frustrated, hopeless, and undervalued. Houzz prides themselves on this flat structure, where everyone is on an equal playing field, and everyone has a voice in the company. Unfortunately, that’s a dream that they sell you, which isn’t true. Instead this “flat structure” has created an environment full of large egos and inefficiencies because decisions are funneled through a select few people.
Finally, hiring standards have dropped significantly during my time at Houzz. There were many people that were hired because of pressure coming from upper management to get people in the door and fill positions, but this has created tensions within teams and again throughout the company.
Due to these issues, there are several people that left Houzz in recent months without having another job lined up because of how toxic the environment was. To be honest, that in itself should be a VERY telling sign for those of you looking to join Houzz.
My advice: If you have multiple offers or are thinking of applying here, don’t take the offer or apply. Go somewhere where you can be treated like a valued employee and get paid more. Every company is going to have its pros and cons, but I think the cons at Houzz outweigh the pros. If you were my friend, I would tell you not to work here and put yourself into such a toxic environment.
