Utterly toxic workplace with dreadful leadership.
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The projects you get to work on.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The most infuriating aspect of working at RTDS is the constant, petty, needless fighting and conflict.
Management appear to be the walking embodiment of the Dunning-Kruger effect... Despite their incessant meddling, there seems to be no clear strategy or foresight in decision-making: it is always reactive rather than proactive, which leads to a constant sense of crisis. When decisions are made, it is without transparency, consultation, or any apparent regard for or understanding of the impacts they will have on workflow, productivity, or morale. This made working conditions completely miserable and the general mood was often one of frustrated resignation.
The shockingly high staff turnover made it difficult to ever feel secure: the Personnel Manager, in particular, appeared to place no value on employees' performance, skills, or experience; only on whether or not they were sufficiently sycophantic.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
Consider therapy?
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The workplace atmosphere is extremely stressful and morale is very low. It's like stepping into a corporate dystopia where trust is an alien concept and micromanagement is the rule. Management's apparent failure to understand or value the work of their employees doesn't just stifle creativity, it breeds resentment and frustration amongst the workforce. The atmosphere from the top down reeks of paranoia and insecurity: employees are constantly looking over their shoulders and afraid of being the next target. It's suffocating and demoralizing to work in an environment where your work is not valued and everything you do is constantly criticized and treated with suspicion.
Kommunikation
Terrible. There is a constant sense of chaos caused by poor communication and shockingly bad office/personnel management, which borders on bullying. This is typified by a culture of scapegoating, a refusal to listen when concerns are expressed, and a contemptuous/adversarial attitude when problems inevitably arise. Frequent screaming/shouting directed at staff by management. Totally unprofessional.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
There is a degree of camaraderie amongst ordinary staff members (they're all in the same bad situation), but relations with management are utterly dysfunctional. Management have temper tantrums like poorly-behaved children. Policies seem to change on an almost weekly basis and, even when the ultimate goal is one that is reasonable, the implementation is frequently so poor and arbitrary that it only leads to another round of chaos and unnecessary fighting/stress.
Work-Life-Balance
The company promises this is flexible – 'sometimes you'll work a little more, sometimes you'll work a little less' – but, in practice, they seem to expect you to routinely do extra, unpaid work but, if you ever try to balance this out by taking time off, you'll be treated with hostility and an interrogation. Opportunity to do Home Office exists but is very limited and only permitted begrudgingly.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
An absolute embarrassment. Upper management appear totally unaware of what they're doing, but instead of hiring somebody competent and delegating tasks, they seem to want to mask their ineptitude with bravado, bluster and a stubborn insistence that they should be obeyed, even after errors are pointed out. It felt like, in their twisted view, every employee was a potential threat, every suggestion a veiled insurrection, and the workplace became a battleground in which they had to control absolutely everything. Supposed 'performance reviews' felt like a joke: those in charge didn't seem to properly understand what staff are doing, nor how to properly assess it. They appeared to value servility and sycophancy above actual performance. If you expect to have capable managers who treat you with respect, I would recommend avoiding this company.
Interessante Aufgaben
The projects are, on a day-to-day basis, pretty good and they do allow a degree of autonomy - if only management would trust staff to get on with their work without constant controlling, monitoring, micromanagement, questioning, and criticism! Through their poor treatment and mistrust of their staff, management turn what would otherwise be genuinely interesting and rewarding work into a depressing cycle of pointless fighting that slowly grinds you down.
Gleichberechtigung
On a superficial level, the company does seems to have decent gender equality etc. However, sexist/misogynistic comments (e.g. comments on the physical attractiveness of project partners, inappropriate sexual innuendo, etc.) could regularly be overheard from a member of senior management. A number of staff have complained of being bullied and unfairly picked on.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
Long-serving staff don't seem to be particularly valued. It seems the company is trying to replace more experienced workers with younger, cheaper, more easily controlled ones.
Arbeitsbedingungen
Management make a big show of having nice facilities, and then make the atmosphere in them utterly miserable. No disabled access. Equipment is satisfactory. There is free coffee.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
The projects the company works on are all related to sustainability; but apart from having separate bins for paper, the company makes no obvious effort to be environmentally friendly.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
Entry level salaries used to be decent (though, based on recent job advertisements, these appear to have been reduced considerably).
Wages were frequently received late (after the end of the month). When this was questioned, instead of an apology, it was met with aggression and excuses. This happened again and again. This is another example of something that would be easy to fix, but those in control refuse to take responsibility and seek excuses and/or to blame others for their own failings.
Image
This company has so many red flags... Staff often appeared to be embarrassed by the behavior of senior colleagues and constantly laughed about management's ineptitude behind their backs. Whilst I believe all the ordinary staff care passionately about their projects, I think pretty much all of them wish they could take those projects and work at a different company with better management.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
Staff turnover is extremely high (as an example, on just one project there have now been 6 D&C managers in under 4 years as one after another has been fired or quit), but management seem to lack the necessary introspection to ask themselves whether it is they themselves causing the problem. At any given time, half of the staff seem to be talking about leaving or how unhappy they are. This sees projects suffer as talent and experience is lost. For those that do stick around, there is practically no potential for career advancement.