Where 'Be Kind' Is a Warning, Not a Value - Marketing Director Faire Employee Review

Inefficient structure: Employees are stretched thin—expected to contribute fully to their core function while also serving on cross-functional “strike teams,” resulting in divided focus. Diffuse management: This structure often means having three to four competing stakeholders instead of a single clear manager, leading to conflicting priorities and decision paralysis. Power hoarding: At ~1,000 employees, the company is big enough to justify specialization, yet hiring remains painfully slow. Long-time employees often refuse to let go of projects or influence, clinging to legacy ways of working while still branding the company as “fast-moving” and “innovative.” Rigidness masked as agility: Despite branding itself as nimble and forward-thinking, the culture is rigid and overly cautious. Every initiative is subject to excessive oversight—especially from L7s and L8s who expect to be looped into even minor decisions. Artificial culture: The workplace culture is often performative—overly polished, overly cautious, and lacking genuine warmth. People tend to be persnickety, rigid, and disingenuous in their interactions, with little appetite for vulnerability or humor. Ironically, “Be Kind” is one of the company’s core values—but when you have to explicitly remind people to be kind, it’s usually a sign that something’s fundamentally off.