Wouldn't recommend my worst enemy to work here
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
I can't think of a single thing, except for an impressive client portfolio (with whom you are not allowed to be directly in contact.)
Verbesserungsvorschläge
Be kinder, more compassionate, and understanding of your contemporaries. Maybe also get some professional help.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
Subjectively a deeply unpleasant and traumatizing experience with management lacking basic interpersonal skills, with humiliation, disrespect, and pressure on employees being recurring. The general atmosphere was perceived as horrific and management's attitude and management skills (or lack thereof) frequently led to immense dissatisfaction among employees. Subjectively, the atmosphere is toxic, rife with favoritism, and unrealistic expectations while being overall hostile and demoralizing.
Kommunikation
In my opinion, if there was any, communication was often cryptic and met with condescension when seeking clarification to ambiguous requests. Meetings were mostly held online (even when most participants were in the office), while I believe some meetings were simply held to micro-manage and ensure tasks were being done and just taken on.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
In my opinion, camaraderie among colleagues was mostly strong as most sentiments appeared to be a shared experience. I believe the team consisted of creative, supportive, and passionate individuals, with some willing to go the extra mile and offer support to one another, fostering a sense of solidarity in an otherwise frustrating environment.
Work-Life-Balance
In my impression, non-existent flexibility and unnegotiable below managerial (or favored) levels, despite different promises during recruitment. Working from home was agreed upon once a week and at management’s discretion, though office presence at a managerial level seemed erratic to me. In my opinion, sick leave often resulted in employees feeling pressured to work from home due to chronic understaffing, poor planning, or simply avoiding the communication of discrepancies to clients such as illness or exhausted capacity. In my opinion, the unavoidable accumulation of overtime was astronomical while being highly discouraged and met with scrutiny rather than thanks.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
In my opinion, what could have been an interesting and fulfilling job was undermined by management’s behavior, attitude, and incompetence. There seemed to be a prevailing divide, despite everyone working towards the same goals. I believe this establishment would immensely benefit from consulting or managerial training, while also ensuring competent personnel at the director level as the current approach is just keeping the owners happy at the immense expense of the team. Subjectively, the most challenging aspects of this job included management’s short temper, arrogance, overbearing demands, and micromanagement, which hindered employees’ ability to feel safe making mistakes or seeking help. In my view, there was little to zero advocacy or support from management, while an unpredictable environment marked by abrupt layoffs and hires, contributed to a high turnover rate, which further highlighted the company’s dysfunction to me.
Interessante Aufgaben
Subjectively, while some tasks and projects are interesting, much of the work involved nonsensical reporting and creating endless Excel lists. Compared to competitive agencies, the company’s approach to PR appears extremely outdated, inefficient, and disconnected. I had the impression that clients would've benefitted much more from actual consulting rather than an agency that just accepts non-sensical projects and ideas. I also believe that the company would benefit immensely from investing into proper and not outdated task, project, and reporting management tools.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
In my opinion and experience, salaries are significantly below the competitive average, non-negotiable, and not livable for Zurich. I also think that the contract is entirely skewed in favor of the employer, with maximal legal working hours, minimal legal holidays, and highly questionable clauses like non-compete rules after leaving.
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In my opinion, the general sentiment from past employees and collaborators (journalists, influencers, clients) is entirely negative.