Swedish reviews

This review pertains specifically to the Swedish Foundation, which operates closely with but separate from Swedish. Recent changes in leadership have exacerbated an existing problem with cliquish middle management. What was once a place of creativity and collaboration has, since these changes, very quickly become an environment where fear is the top motivator, and no one feels free to speak up and express concerns for fear of retaliation. In response to the most recent employee engagement survey indicating that compensation was an area for improvement, middle management treated this concern with scorn, sometimes outright laughter. Some employees rely on housing assistance, while multiple middle and upper managers drive luxury cars, carry designer handbags, and live in multi-million dollar homes. The callousness and out-of-touch-ness in their response to employee concerns was disappointing. Additionally, when some female employees were promoted, their new salaries were still less than male employees at the same level. Employees of color have been hired at lower levels (in terms of title and pay) than white employees, despite having comparable experience. Flexible work arrangements made before recent leadership changes will not be honored, and discussion and negotiation are not on the table. Employees have been let go rather than even simply discuss compromise. Workers have been put on performance improvement plans (whose terms ended in termination) despite having average and above average KPIs, including dollars raised. When asked for justification and explanation, only vague and unverifiable claims were made. Upper management told employees that they would be in Tuesday-Thursday and had employees sign a contract stating that they would be in office three days per week as well. However, a week or two after this contract, upper management visited the office and found that most employees were working from home on that Friday (having come in to the office Tuesday-Thursday). The leadership team then changed the expectation to Tuesday-Thursday and every other Friday in office, because they thought that an empty office on Friday "looked bad." Leadership has also engaged in ethically bad and legally dubious practices by declaring all employees "essential workers" so that they can demand in-office work. They have also engaged in retaliation and demanded resignations. Philanthropy has a serious turnover problem. In an industry where the average tenure in a job is 1.5 years, Swedish had long beaten this curve. Many employees have been here 5 or more years. That is unlikely to continue with these recent changes. Multiple employees have already left, and more are actively looking for jobs. It doesn't matter how hard you work or how much money you raise. Your job is dependent upon you kissing up to the right people. Prospective employees beware.