Sad downhill spiral - Anonymous employee Dwell Employee Review

1.0
24 July 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are so few people left to do the work, if you want to take something - anything - on you are able to. Even something really important and revenue impacting - you can own it and report right into the CEO. The hierarchy is so disrespected that you can bypass your manager and go right to the top and ask to change your job.

Cons

1.) The most disorganized work environment I have ever encountered. Something as simple as a meeting: Nobody respects start / end time, has an agenda, or even shows up. Also, people don't show up to meetings prepared, and they are constantly answering their phones in meetings, checking email - wasting everyone's time. 2.) No respect for hierarchy. Conversations happen across every level - so you can be trying to do something you've been asked to take on only to find your manager gave the same task to someone else - just because they happened to see each other in the hall. This creates a lot of confusion, and sends the message that managers don't support their direct reports. 3.) Lack of bounderies: Calls and emails all week end long, but few people working on weekday afternoons. While flex time can be good, in this situation you end up working 24/7 and not able to get answers when you need them. 4.) Backstabbing. Too many closed-door meetings about who is going to be blamed for lack of revenue, and who is going to get the ax for it. 5.) Not a good company no the resume, bad reputation, difficult to get work after.

Explore other reviews about Dwell

5.0
8 Jan 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible, understanding, interesting, healthful environment.

Cons

Can be a bit fast-paced at times.

5.0
1 Nov 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I appreciate the level of respect and autonomy offered at the company. There's a sense that we're all adults and have meaningful things to contribute to Dwell's success. Because Dwell is an independent publisher, we have wide discretion when it comes to our editorial content and the evolution of the website. This kind of autonomy is a boon for the types of people who work at Dwell: self-directed, passionate about their craft, interested in good design and architecture. Though I haven't been at the company long, I've gotten the sense that there has been a meaningful shift over the last few years toward being much more deliberate about our digital properties, especially Dwell.com. Previous attempts to design and build the website lacked product strategy process that is now becoming commonplace. More than anything, though, the people at Dwell are very easy to work with, which surprised me at first. I thought it might be stuffy, often promoting high-brow design, yet it is anything but. People are very down to earth and care about making good design accessible.

Cons

Despite being a small company, teams can feel siloed — especially between editorial and product. There can be a bit of project swirl within and among teams. However, even in my relatively short tenure I've seen progress made toward more cross-team collaboration.

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