Toxic Work Culture, Definitely NOT Family Friendly Company
Pros
1. Cool downtown office space, cute on site gym and nice showers. 2. They make cool products. 3. There are great people that work here, but they can't succeed like they would at a decent company without the toxic work culture.
Cons
Lovevery is a super successful, growing company and it just goes to show that toxic work culture exists even at the most successful companies. For me, the biggest factor was fear of the boss. Employees are micromanaged to the degree that it can make you anxious and nervous to even press send on a simple email or answer a phone call. Never mind feeling comfortable to express your ideas or speak up when wrong decisions are being made. If you have a work background where you think you can contribute, don't bother as they won't let you share your previous experience; in fact, they don't even want you to mention where you previously worked. Titles are extremely important - I can't tell you how many times I was told not to do that task because it was below my pay grade or enabling a fellow coworker. This totally eliminates any teamwork or cross collaboration from happening - everyone is out to do it themselves in a way that is exactly aligned with the cofounders' way of doing things. And forget about being mentored or given a mentor even when requested. As I was just trying to fit in I requested someone to bond with (who wasn't my boss) and that was frowned upon as worthless since startups don't have time for that. You would think startups would want you to grow so you can contribute even more, but not at Lovevery. This probably stems back to being micromanaged - since you are basically told how to do things, why would you need to grow? The unspoken rules are suffocating. There is no work/life balance. For the cofounders it is all about work. It was frowned upon to leave before 6pm regardless of how much work you get done and same goes for taking a lunch hour - you need to stay in the office. If you have sick kids at home, they'll help you to find options to care for them, but not let you work from home. This is almost unbelievable since people with young kids is the heart of their market. I honestly became depressed working at Lovevery. All the confidence and energy I had built up during my previous work experiences was gone. I felt like such a failure for not thriving at such a successful startup. When I announced I was leaving to my manager, I was told not to tell my employees - that my manager would be the one to tell them. I knew I had made the right decision. And when word of my departure started to spread, the amount of people that also felt the same way was incredible - I was not alone. Even as I type this I find myself bonding with whoever wrote a previous similar review here on Glassdoor. If you're considering a position at Lovevery because it's a super successful business and it sounds like it would have a family friendly fun environment to work in, you will be sorely disappointed.
