Maker Studios Reviews

The vast majority of our "C-level" and upper management have little to no experience in the department they are in charge of or even in the industry. Most are people let go or fired from Yahoo (And may I clarify- Yahoo as it is today not when it was pertinent). New direction for the company changes monthly; nothing gets a chance for full effort. Half-baked, unintelligent, or "easy" ideas are the norm from our leaders and when they fail, its blamed on employees. Toxic work environment seems like an understatement, 2-3 people quit weekly- with spikes of 5-7 or entire teams of people- and the work is dumped on others instead of hiring replacements. Upper management openly disparages employees around the office and in All-Hands meetings. If one openly disagrees with a decision, they are targeted with micromanagement, having resources withheld, or generally making their job difficult. Most employees fall into two camps- those who are doing the work of 3-4 people and those who are doing the work of 3-4 people PLUS middle to upper management level responsibilities. Asking to be appropriately compensated for said tasks or even given the correct title is one of the most belittling and frustrating parts of Maker Studios. "Its out of our hands but we are working on it" is the usual response followed with a lecture on how its a privilege and an honor to be able to do the work that you do. One has to threaten to quit and have an offer letter in hand to get any sort of compensation. Suddenly what was "out of their hands" magically comes together within hours. Talent is miserable and not taken care of or valued, many have left or are leaving. Since no one is doing just their own job but has to pick up the slack for others or empty positions, there is no accountability when things do go wrong. Important things fall through the cracks in the scramble to stay afloat over the workload. This creates a culture of finger pointing and playing the blame game. How can you fix or improve something when they is no way to find what is broken or lacking in the first place? Great employees are broken and defeated. Its hard to care about something when you know its going to fail. People stay because they built this company and have a bit of hope but its depressing to watch others destroy it.

Leadership is nonexistent, environment is extremely toxic and negative since May layoffs. In the middle of a mass exodus - extremely high employee turnover, frustration and unhappiness are the elephants in the room that everyone refuses to address (including HR). Only hiring VP's and big name executives - no one really knows what they actually "do". Too many meetings with lots of big strategy talk but no plans of attack or accurate execution timelines. No one cares about the details until they need something or someone to blame. Teams are set up for failure internally and externally. Lacking tools and resources needed for success. New culture of playground politics and petty gossip distracts from day-to-day work. No incentive system for 90% of the staff who did not get rich during the Disney acquisition but put in the long nights and weekends to get the company where it is today. Horrible compensation plan and NO a Disney Silver Pass does not make up for the horrible salaries and imaginary raises or bonuses. No food or snacks provided to employees, just overpriced vending machines. Parking is limited for staff, dangerous offsite parking available if you dare. Workspace is communal, perfect for execs to flaunt during client tours but normally avoid at all costs by hiding in their personal offices. Execs will demand work from you at all hours but will not look you in the eye or say hi in passing. Company bonding now happens over weekly "good-bye" drinks for the 2-3 people that quit that week.