All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Literally nothing. It's better not to work here. At best you'll end up in a job with no prospects where everything is a constant struggle, at worst your boss will psychologically abuse you, making indirect and direct threats.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
What saddens me the most is the fact that HR's efforts to deceive and cover up the truth are far greater than the efforts made to protect and maintain a safe working environment for employees.
- Mistreatment of employees, abuse of power, mobbing and other inappropriate behaviour by Korean managers and the fact that this behaviour has no consequences for the perpetrators.
- Discrimination based on age, gender and nationality.
- Unqualified management. Trust me, you've never seen anything like it, not only do most managers have no idea how to lead people, but often they don't even have knowledge in their field of work, no knowledge of the industry, etc., also, it's ridiculous that Korean managers are not trained to work in an international environment and don't know German labour law (or they know it, but ignore it), some don't even speak English properly.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
- Implement zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, mobbing, psychological abuse and other inappropriate behavior.
- Mandatory training for so-called management on leadership, German laws, discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment.
- Hire/promote qualified and competent people into leadership positions.
- Stop lying to people during job interviews.
But to be honest, I don't see any hope for this company, best if all people just quit and leave this horror behind.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The atmosphere here is absolutely terrible - heavily influenced by Korean work culture. There is a pressure fabricated through urgency as a result of poor management, lack of: processes, clarity of responsibilities and communication. It's total chaos, you can't work under such conditions. Most employees are very frustrated, stressed, and unhappy.
Apart from that there is a two-class society - “the Koreans” and “the others” which has a big impact on the work environment.
Kommunikation
Non-existent. Korean supervisors rarely communicate with their employees, and when they do, they are verbally aggressive, yelling or making passive-aggressive comments. Things you will hear from a Korean supervisor: "Working from home is not your right"; "Taking sick leave from the doctor is viewed negatively"; "If you want to make it in this company, you can't go home before 6pm" (regardless of whether you started work at 7am); "Korean employees are worth more than German employees" - these are direct quotes from people who are in so-called leadership positions here.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Mostly very bad. Although there are some wonderful colleagues and I just hope for their sake that they find another opportunity before the company sucks the energy out of them. Most colleagues are very unhappy, stressed and unmotivated, which makes it difficult to work with others. The hostile atmosphere from management encourages bad behaviour, which leads to conflicts and finger-pointing between and within teams.
In addition, turnover is extremely high and it will continue. Try to maintain team spirit in such circumstances, you won't even be able to remember the ever-changing names of the people you work with.
Work-Life-Balance
If you're lucky, it is ok, if not, it's non-existent. Korean managers expect people to work daily overtime, during vacations and on weekends. Hybrid work is also a scam. Yes, the company has an agreement with the works council under which employees can take max. two home office days per week, but ultimately it depends on the manager whether you are really allowed to do so. Korean supervisors generally have problems with working from home so you should expect your application to be rejected, especially if you are in your probation period.
Apart from that, you have to constantly deal with such absurd things in this company that it robs you of energy, which you then don't have for your personal life, even if your workload isn't too heavy at the moment. You will spend all your free time thinking about your exit strategy and looking for professional psychological help, so think twice before accepting an offer from this company.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
In the case of Korean supervisors, absolutelly unprofessional. Korean bosses treat their employees like their servants. Your expertise doesn't matter to them, you are only there to fulfill their wishes, which often have nothing to do with your job title. They completely lack leadership skills, so micro-managing and passive-aggressive behaviour is a standard. There were several instances of mistreatment/harassment of employees that almost everyone in the company knew about and HR did nothing. HR goes to great lengths to sweep it all under the rug. If you talk to HR about it, you will hear: "It's your word against your manager's word". Disgusting behaviour.
And yes, if you have a non-Korean boss, it's better, but don't expect more than mediocrity. German managers know this company sucks, but do nothing, because they have sold their soul and dignity for a very high salary they can't earn anywhere else.
Interessante Aufgaben
Don't assume that the tasks will be interesting just because the company is in the renewable energy sector. My job description did not correspond to reality. I found myself in a position that I never applied for and would never have accepted. And I've heard similar stories from several colleagues in different departments. This happens because supervisors have no idea what the job and tasks actually look like, so they just make up something that sounds good. Also, onboarding is not provided, so you will be forced to figure out the tasks you didn't sign up for in the first place on your own.
Gleichberechtigung
If I had to describe this company in just one word, it would be "inequality". This inequality is evident in every aspect of the work. The company acts as if the fact that there are international colleagues automatically means that the company cares about equality, but this is a lie. Diversity does not mean equality!
Firstly, there is very clear discrimination against non-Korean colleagues. Their opinions are mostly irrelevant and career prospects non-existed. They are also mostly not invited to company dinners, that are Korean-only. In addition, Korean culture is very chauvinistic, most supervisors are men, there is only one woman. Non-Koreans with a non-European background are the worst off here. Koreans know that you need the job to get a visa and they will use this against you. If you have a darker skin tone or just returned from vacation, be prepared for unprofessional comments about your skin color.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
Because in Korean culture respect is determined by age and position in the hierarchy, older employees are generally respected, especially if they are male. This however means, that younger people and females are discriminated against.
Arbeitsbedingungen
Nice open office in a very good location, but that's all that's good. IT support is terrible, something is constantly not working.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Although the company is in the renewable energy field, environmental and social awareness is for them just a PR campaign. They care about numbers, not the environment.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
It's not that bad, mostly at the market level. However, younger women usually get very low salaries and (Korean) men earn ridiculously high amounts.
There is an annual salary increase procedure, but only because there is such an agreement with the works council; if the management could cut it, they would.
Image
More of an illusion than reality. You can find out by reading the reviews here.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
There is no such thing as a career prospect in this company. The company also offers no training opportunities. Although each time reorganization happens people who are already in management positions get promotions (just new titles).