CHAOS - Anonymous employee Connective3 Employee Review

Only really have to go into the office once a month. You get 5 extra days of holiday as ‘wellbeing’ allowance. Good health care.

Where do I begin… It used to be a decent place to work, but over the past year or two it’s turned into a very hostile and toxic workplace,full of micromanagement, unrealistic expectations, and a company that’s losing sight on ethics and creative thinking. There’s also a massive drinking culture. Most people churn out ai slop (a lot of the managers, which is BAFFLING) which makes the workload for others who aren’t using it. Creative and critical thinking has gone. Training sessions are reruns and no new ways of thinking. Some recently promoted team members have a very toxic approach to ‘collaborating’ with other members of the team. Prepare to be micromanaged and be expected to spend all day everyday each month on accounts that should be two day retainers - the result? The rest of your work slips with it to. Unfortunately, this company fits the stereotype of having cliques, which makes it very hard to speak up or feel like you’ll find a place to fit in. 1-2-1s are very few and far between with your manager. They’re extremely overworked and don’t have time to lend support that’s really needed. We had a new head of people join the company a year ago, but we really haven’t had much support or change from them. The fun and friendly culture is just completely gone.

Great conference opportunities, socials, friendly staff, hybrid working, some quirky benefits. You also cannot fault their internal marketing; the company’s linkedin is fantastic. I think this company could be great for juniors new to the industry. Training was okay, particularly during my first 6-8 months.

I have to agree with other reviews sadly in that unfortunately it doesn’t feel safe to speak up, as raising issues is very clearly often used against you. Favouritism and nepotism amongst certain teams is very obvious once you’ve clocked it, and this makes for an uncomfortable working environment that lacks morals. This is not the place for you if you want a role with more creative freedom, so expect micromanagement. Most importantly, do not join based on their marketing online; while it may look incredible from the outside, this is sadly not the case in reality. It might be good for some, however please keep your eyes open and note down everything, as it is common for people to be “managed out” or placed on performance improvement plans once problems are raised. As other reviews have highlighted, pressure placed on staff and the level of micromanagement on tasks needs to change.