I started at Schawk in what was supposed to be a 3 month temp to hire position. This temp status was extended to 10 months and then I was promptly fired for bringing up the following issues:
NO HONESTY: During my interview I was told I'd be working on magazines, but was not told who the client would be. Upon starting the position I found out the catalogs I'd be working on were for Amway. Amway is a multi-level marketing or pyramid scheme.
LACK OF TRAINING: Employees refuse to train one another for fear of losing their jobs. I brought this issue up numerous times and requested additional training which was never addressed by management.
EXTENDED TEMP STATUS: After 3 months I approached my manager and asked to transition to full-time as I was promised in my interview. I was told it wasn't in the budget and that most people don't transition to full time until they've been there over a year, but the paperwork had been put in to move me to a full time position they just couldn't tell me how long that would take. I approached my manager numerous times about transitioning after this and was given the same excuse each time. This lasted for 10 months until I was fired.
REVOLVING DOOR MENTALITY: I watched this company go through 3 firing binges. The first time 7 people were let go. The second time 5 people were let go. The third time 2 people were let go. Each time we were told if we talked about this amongst ourselves we too would be let go. No managers are usually present or available when these firings take place. At one point we were told the company would only be hiring temps from here on out because it is cheaper for the company than bringing people on full time. This caused chaos in the departments. You could start working on a project with someone and in a few weeks that person could be gone and replaced with someone else. Projects were hard to complete with people constantly being let go.
LACK OF LEADERSHIP: When the company moved to a new location around Christmas there were no managers or leaders present to help welcome employees or make sure they knew what to do/where to go. The company moved into an occupied building and the first couple days were chaos. Computers were not hooked up, internet was not working, servers hadn’t been switched over, etc. Managers are unwilling to help or support employees and constantly shift blame instead of taking responsibility.
FEAR TACTICS: I took on a new client that was overbearing and I was being overworked. I brought this up to my manager and asked that we set some boundaries and expectations for the client. They were asking us to be on call 24/7 for their projects and I didn’t have the time or resources to do that by myself. When this issue was brought up my manager told me my request was unacceptable, not how an agency functions, and if I couldn’t handle it they’d hire someone that could. The threat of being fired is held over your head constantly because managers think it will make employees work harder to keep their jobs.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE: Forget having a life outside of this job. In busy seasons you are expected to work overtime as much as needed. This could mean coming in at 4:00 a.m. and staying as late as 1:00 a.m. to finish a project. There is no one monitoring how late employees work, how much they work, or how much overtime there is until the company starts losing money. Once they start losing money, you are then told if you work overtime you will be fired. Overtime is a requirement and you will be overworked. You are also expected to use your own resources. If you are on call, you will use your own phone and computer. They rarely provide production artists with the tools needed to get your job done.
BULLYING/HARASSMENT: This isn’t just coming from the employees, it starts from the top down. Managers run around saying awful things about employees, employees hear this and think it is then okay for them to do the same. I’ve heard some pretty nasty things said about employees and when I brought this up I was told it wasn’t an issue. I then had another employee, whom I took time out of my busy schedule to help, sit next to me and completely disrespect and belittle me. I brought this up to my manager the next day and he did nothing to punish the employee, just told me that’s how this employee is. Verbal abuse/harassment is running rampant at this company and they see no issue with it.
LOW COMPANY MORALE: Company morale at Schawk is probably the worst I’ve ever seen at any company. Employees are so scared of losing their jobs that they constantly attack one another. Managers attack employees. It’s a vicious cycle. Walking into this company every day and seeing this caused everyone to be depressed and angry day after day.