Pros
At time of joining the organisation part time in-store (<5 years into the brand), the culture was exciting, each employee felt a part of the growth. Working hard usually pays off, in either expansion support (international), or cross-store support, and extra responsibilities in store. Rewards were satisfactory, and H&M group discount is a very nice added extra. Was a unique fashion brand in the market, in design, aesthetics, stores and culture. Overall company has a nice atmosphere, quite unlike other 'high-street' fashion brands. Progression to head office was by way of internship - which are available internally and advertised to all store staff through internal newsletters and updates, so it never feels too disconnected or out of reach if the position is available. (I was in Head Office for around 20 months) Lots of exciting ideas and opportunities for brand growth
Cons
Time in head office was marred by favouritism from senior management (one of the brands Spokespeople/stakeholders) which at times put me in an uncomfortable position. As an intern I was told "if you want to get anywhere in this department, you should just go along with it", by senior management. Team members were aware of said favouritism and the inappropriate actions that would take place, but nothing was done. Regardless of if you were good or bad, if you weren't in the 'good books', this would affect progression, work tasks, travel and benefits. During my team I was subject to: - shoulder massages - rubbing ears - play biting my ear (I had to wipe saliva from my ear) - rubbing beard on the back of my head after a haircut - attempted hand-holding when outside of the office (played off as a joke) - taken out of the office for personal shopping trips, sometimes for hours at a time - very tactile and physical (play punches to the back/arm) While I didn't feel comfortable expressing this discomfort at the time for fear of lack of progression / difficultly at work (probation period is 6 months), management was aware of the actions that took place, but no action was taken/support given. From what I know, other team members had spoken the HR department about certain actions (including throwing a bin of rubbish because there was a banana skin in the recycling), but this seemed to fall on deaf ears, as the mentioned behaviour continued, making a quite hostile working environment at times. Throughout my employment in the team, I heard comments made that I found should not be made in the workplace, and if I wasn't in my lower position in the team (this point, an Assistant), I would have been more vocal about my disproval. Reading HR policy however, I felt that there wasn't a support structure in place that would protected me if I was to do this, nor would it be rigid enough to make any difference. Such comments ranged from mildly homophobic/undertones of racism (commenting on applicants to jobs being too camp, 'too much', comments on hair, voice, background) to straight up / proud transphobia (use of the phrases "he/she", "it" and "men are born men, women are women, those freaks", and when I mentioned 'you can't say that stuff', was met with the response "I'm so fed up of people being offended all the time, they can [profanity] off". This particular conversation was had in a COS store, with store employees and customers in plain sight and sound. At my point of resignation, I emailed senior management of my resignation. I believe this came as a shock, as it was to move out of the current industry and into another area, so was quite a significant move. I received no email response back, and only when he had been back in the office for a few hours, was I met with two fingers (said in jest), and called over to very quickly discuss it. This was in front of other team members, and not into a private room like resignations conversations would usually go. The conversation included a comment about 'joining the gay mafia' (due to the industry I was moving into [Diversity and Inclusion]), and that "you'll no longer get the discount or hear from us when you go". All was said with an element of humour, but as this was an official resignation, I expected a much higher level of professionalism. From this point, and the four weeks notice period, my time at COS was dragged to the ground and almost five years of employment - which I was sad to be leaving behind - turned into the happiest of leaving days, to be leaving behind such a toxic and difficult environment. As my new role was discussed, other members of management also made inappropriate comments - one such being 'Oh this is gay, XX (me) will be interested' when reading a news article. One event included a photography selection being chosen, and senior management making clear to the group of staff (around 7 members of management team and external staff) that I should have a say in the selection "to make sure the photos are diverse enough, because that's what I do now". At this point I made this clear that the ongoing jokes weren't okay, only for the senior management to inappropriately stand in front of me, one leg on the chair I was sat on, and pretend to pour a drink over my head while he continued to make negative comments about my new job. I had to physically push somebody off me - which in a work situation should never have to take place. Again - around 7 members of management were all present, but nothing was said about this. This was at around 2am, at a large event we held. We were then expected in at 9am the following morning as usual. The week before this, I had asked the HR department if I could meet with them to discuss some of my concerns about the behaviour and environment in the team, and had it planned for the final week. After the above evening however, I went to HR immediately the following morning (at this point very tired/emotional) and explicitly told them that if this wasn't sorted and I wasn't spoken to, that I would not return to work for the rest of my notice period. I told the of HR what had happened the night before, and I arranged to discuss with them later that week. I was pulled into a room by senior management to discuss my unhappiness and was told: "I heard you're [profanity] off with me", at which point I reiterated that I think the things said are inappropriate. I also told them that I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending anybody to work for the company or the department, as I felt that somebody who was less willing to stand up may have had their life made difficult - I particularly wouldn't want an LGBT (particularly trans*) person to get a job there, knowing the comments that had been made. There was an apology made and the excuse that that these things are said as a joke. I made clear that while sometimes jokes are funny - to people that aren't aware of this, they come across incredibly offensive and shouldn't be made in that open-office environment. Later that week, I sat HR for almost 90 minutes, disclosing all of the above - my thoughts on the management, the levels of inappropriate behaviour, the recent comments about my new role - and was asked if I would be comfortable having a conversation with my senior management before I left. I had said all that I needed to say already, and did not feel like the HR knew what they were doing well enough for me to feel like this would be a professional meeting with the correct procedures in place, so asked for it to be held until I had left the organisation for fear of reprisal. Once I had left the organisation, I reached out several times to the HR department - doubling down on the complaints I initially made - but they refused to comment on the incidents that I reported. I was told that there were 'concerned to read my email' and that they would discuss internally and pass on my feedback. Following up and expressing my dissatisfaction, I was told that nothing could be shared with me due to employee confidentially, which I found difficult to understand with as I was the one who made the complaint. I left the organisation in October - with emails back and forth with HR until February 2018. Throughout this, I posed to the HR team that I felt had my complaint come from a female, against a male, it would have been dealt with more robustly. However, as this was a complaint from a male about another male, I felt it was taken much less seriously. At the last email, I again confirmed that I was unsatisfied with the outcome and how it was dealt with, and that I would be taking this further and seeking further advice. I received no response to this.
