Bookends Reviews

At Bookends, everything is about the task at hand and there is no time to consider your needs as an individual. I felt little warmth or connection within the team and felt like a cog in the machine. There's not enough managers so you won't have regular 1-1s, which makes it difficult to discuss your progress and how you're finding things. In the time you do get to speak to management, it will primarily be about very task-specific concerns. Most tasks have been made hyper-efficient, which means everything must be done in a very specific way and can feel micro-managed. You are expected to be highly proactive, ask questions about every small deviation from process, and not make any assumptions in your work. There is no freedom to manage how you choose to do something. It is hard to feel any sense of responsibility when every step has already been laid out for you. Standards are extremely high and a lot is expected of you. Your thought processes and decisions you make will be interrogated. I was often given more tasks and expected to make time for it, which lead to an ever-increasing workload and feeling constantly under pressure. If you can't make time for your tasks you have to awkwardly ask your colleagues for help when you know they are just as busy as you. Mistakes will be discussed in front of others which makes you fear making mistakes, and creates a sense of mistrust and shame. I have overheard managers have very private conversations about performance or other staff members in the open.

Working at Bookends offers challenges to your state of mental health with no support from within the company. Prepare to work late into the evenings and some weekends to balance your ever increasing workload. There is very little flexibility when it comes to your hours and ability to WFH. There is no work-life balance and little appreciation for all your hard work. Stress levels and workload amongst staff are high all year round due to the poor structure and micromanaging nature within the company. Every mistake you make will be raised to you infront of your colleagues in what feels like an interrogation to embarrass you and sometimes drive you to tears. Management feedback can often be unprofessional and condescending, and sometimes takes the form of indirect gossip in the hallways.