This was, without a doubt, the worst place I have ever worked. The company fosters a culture of favouritism, where success is determined by who you're friends with rather than on skills or merit. Rules and policies are inconsistently applied, with clear bias towards those favoured by senior management, especially across the Brighton team.
The senior leadership team, particularly Heads of Departments and Directors, treat employees as numbers on a spreadsheet rather than actual human beings. Mistakes and gaps in training are blamed on employees, rather than acknowledged as failings of leadership. Gaslighting was common, and the overall culture revolved around blame rather than accountability or development.
At times it felt like HoDs deliberately withheld opportunities and critical information, micromanaged excessively, neglected regular check-ins, and provided vague, opaque, or even personally demeaning feedback. This created an environment that was not just stressful, but outright toxic. Leadership seems to face zero consequences for their behaviour, even when it crosses the line into what many would consider bullying behaviour. However, due to the culture of favouritism and lack of support, employees likely felt discouraged from formally raising grievances.
The company’s so-called people-first and mental health initiatives appear to be nothing more than empty PR rhetoric, completely detached from the lived experience of employees. Do better!