Pros
Talented, passionate colleagues at all levels who genuinely cared about the product and customers Opportunities to learn quickly due to fast pace and exposure to multiple parts of the business
Cons
If you’re looking for a real-world example of poor management undermining a once-strong company, this is it. Company-wide events were oddly reassuring, not because things were going well, but because leadership couldn’t gaslight an entire room. Hearing the same stories repeated across departments was a wake-up call for many and made it clear these issues were systemic, not isolated. Instead of retaining skilled, effective leaders, the company repeatedly promoted the wrong people. This created a school-playground culture that left many colleagues feeling gaslit, demoralised, and deeply unhappy. The introduction of unlimited annual leave felt like little more than a LinkedIn marketing exercise. In practice, teams were penalised for taking time off, and individuals were singled out for not doing enough work to “earn” leave after the policy was announced. Mental health was frequently discussed externally but rarely honoured internally. Leadership lacked diversity, and the steady departure of strong leaders of colour spoke louder than any public-facing statements. This is not a family-friendly company. There was minimal support for working parents, paternity leave was held against colleagues, and those returning from parental leave received little to no meaningful support. While I wasn’t personally made redundant, I witnessed over 20 colleagues lose their jobs, including some of the most talented teams I’ve worked with. For those who remained, previously advertised benefits such as unlimited holiday and Flexi-Friday were abruptly removed, and all pay reviews were cancelled. There was relentless pressure to sell to students, even during a cost-of-living crisis, despite internal research showing students were prioritising essentials like food over retail brands. People would simply disappear. Every meeting carried a sense of dread, waiting to see who wouldn’t show up that day—often without explanation or acknowledgement of the colleagues who had been holding teams together for years. Management actively eroded team spirit by fostering a tell-tale culture, where blame was rewarded and those who pointed fingers were promoted. In one particularly disturbing instance, a colleague on parental leave disappeared without any communication or explanation. Job security was virtually non-existent. Meanwhile, contractors on extortionate rates were placed into positions of authority, seemingly due to personal relationships with senior leadership rather than capability or experience. It often felt like allowing someone who had completed a £5 Udemy course for coach drivers to take control of a coach full of experienced professionals—without ever having driven a coach themselves—confidently leading them to a conference on how to drive. I didn’t fully realise how depressed I had become until I left Pion (formerly Student Beans).
