At the beginning, Paper felt like a good opportunity. With a noble mission, enthusiastic people, and flexible work options, it seemed like the perfect fit for me and many others. However, slowly over the course of months, Paper began rearing its true and ugly head. There were signs of toxicity littered all over the place (far more than what can be listed here), particularly in the operations department. Behind closed doors, tutors were talked about with little to no respect, their activities on slack being monitored closely, and mysterious layoffs/firings sprinkled into the fold. Things worsened quickly and we had to witness colleague after colleague be let go for no clear reason (any reason given to us was easily disproven and often followed little logic). Burdened with the emotions of colleagues callously let go in addition to the very real fear that any one of us could be next, we had to truck forward with the added workloads of our former colleagues and minimal guidance. Week after week we labored with no direction, a ridiculous workload, and rapidly changing expectations. To make matters worse, the decision was made to let go of our senior managers. The reason we were given was because the senior manager position caused too much unnecessary bureaucracy and siloed us in our roles. In a meeting informing us of the decision, we were told that we should be happy, and that the removal of the senior manager role is exactly what we asked for. The result, 40+ individuals would now report to a single person, many of whom never had any meaningful interaction with their new manager. When you must walk on eggshells around your manager for fear of being fired and have no clear channel for 2-way feedback with them, how exactly does that reduce bureaucracy and break siloes? Nobody is sure, but unsurprisingly the out of touch management saw this as a resounding success This is a great transition to talk about the infamous director who has been mentioned several times here. We watched as this person single-handedly dismantled teams, processes, and expectations with no clear direction behind why. Their callousness, inappropriateness, and lack of working knowledge created a toxic culture unlike any I have ever experienced. To be a director in operations for an education company, one would expect the person who holds that position to 1) have a background in education, 2) people management skills, and 3) a deep understanding of operations. To start, the person in question has no background working in education, whether that be directly or tangentially. You might think that then this person must be a fantastic people-manager, relationship builder, motivator, etc. Wrong. I watched as they have made insensitive remarks in meetings, inappropriate comments about former colleagues, and in general have terrible sense of self-awareness around the culture they cultivated. People were constantly scared of the repercussions for speaking up, so unsurprisingly little did, unless it was to perpetuate the echo chamber of what the director wants to hear and already thinks they know. They continually encouraged people to leave the role if they felt it wasn't a right for them. Not only is this inappropriate and tone def during a time where thousands of people are out of work and still searching for jobs (including the very people we used to work with), but it’s also just a strange thing to say to your team (not to mention exposes a clear lack of understanding on how to communicate and lead). You would think, okay, if they have no background in education and have no real leadership skills, they must be an absolute operations whiz, right? Nope. Time and time again, they have made questionable decisions at best, while the rest of the team faced the brunt of the fallout. They routinely demonstrated a lack of working knowledge on how to properly use and interpret data, had no idea of what certain job functions look like for the people they managed, and passed off work to others with no direction. Incompetence and ineptitude don't feel like strong enough words, but they'll have to do. It would be unfair to pin the deteriorating culture on one person. The reality is, lack of top down accountability have culminated in a culture where people are burnt-out, worried their jobs are at risk, and languishing in the same roles with the same pay for far too long. Image is very important to Paper, and as such, they will stroll Glassdoor and continue to assure the employees that they care about their well-being through surface level surveys and empty words with no real action to back it. The attempts are Paper thin (pun intended). If you truly cared, something would have been done. For example, through internal surveys, anonymous reporting, and Glassdoor reviews, the same person has been flagged over and over as a problem. Why are they still there in the same role causing the same harm? I am not cold enough to ask for them to suffer the same fate my former colleagues received, but I have seen people fired for far less. Where is the accountability? It is only when you leave Paper that you can truly see the toxicity you were entrenched in. Talking to others about your experience and seeing their reactions is when you realize that none of this was normal. I am by no means just a disgruntled former employee – there are legitimate concerns about how this department and this company are operating. I can only hope that this will help people make informed decisions, or perhaps help improve things for the incredible people who remain. The market is tough, and I know that for some any job will do. It would be insensitive of me to call for anyone with the opportunity to join to turn away immediately. However, if you do decide to join Paper, proceed with caution. In the end, it will take far more from you than it will ever give.
