Before working here, whenever someone would complain about their job and say they were in a "hostile work environment" I used to quickly dismiss it. I never quite understood the reality of being in that type of situation before I worked here. I was so stressed that it was making me become physically sick and unable to think clearly. I would suffer from constant anxiety attacks as a result of the way my manager treated me and just the overall environment that I was subjected to. I did not quickly change positions because this is the type of job that if you are out one day you will have to work a weekend in order to catch up so it is most difficult to find a new job while staying in this one. The hours are extremely long and the expectations and deadlines are insane Burnout is inevitable. There is no work-life balance. Vacation and sick days are bundled together.
Coworkers and departments constantly harass each other. This is a breeding ground for bullies. I myself became a bit of a bully while working here because it becomes almost a survival mechanism. THe MD doesn't call it bullying though. She just calls it "being aggressive." There is a lot of swearing, volatile tempers and favortism. Things change at a drop of a hat and there is no transparency about these changes. Sometimes, the changes (like restructuring) are not even really addressed to the "peasants" or the "machines" at all. The environment has a combination of a sweatshop, factory, boiler room type of vibe going on. It's just disgusting.
The experience as a whole marked just such a negative portion of my life and I am so relieved it is over. I was never proud to tell people where I worked. I look back with a lot of regret that I wasted a few years at this company. It was silly really that I put so much time, sacrifice and energy into this little company - for no appreciation, mind you. I feel a lot of regret that I also tolerated being treated less than what I was worth professionally.
I see they are now making their Recruiter respond to reviews.(Oh, by the way, they don't have a Human Resources function. Just a recruiter) It probably comes up in her weekly meetings. They probably even figured a bs way of measuring her performance to how many reviews she responds to or something. She can respond however she would like, however it does not take away from the negative experiences people have had. If I could do it all over again, I would not have read all of the negative reviews with a grain of salt. Where there is smoke, there is fire.