Pros
Truly some of the best people you will ever meet. Flexible schedules are a huge upside - many work abbreviated weeks or nontraditional hours. You’re encouraged to prioritise your own wellbeing.
Cons
I felt there was a dissonance between leadership’s words and actions, and watching that was really demotivating. Their mission is to ‘make every employee feel valued’, but:
- Long-term, highly skilled employees are being replaced by AI and cheap outsourced labour
- Pay isn’t adjusted for inflation, and raises aren’t tied to anything measurable
- There are no paths to promotion, and high performers are often handed more responsibilities without a corresponding title or compensation
- There are a few bullies who have pushed their way into leadership positions, so line manager quality can be luck of the draw
- Much-loved perks have quietly disappeared: summer socials, Christmas gifts, bonus schemes, team-building days (being in-office ≠ team-building). The things that compensated for lower pay are simply gone.
Perkbox does a great job at TALKING about employee value, but when it comes to actually fostering it, it always take a backseat to maximised profits.
Working for a private equity-backed business isn’t for everyone, and I recognise that, but charting Perkbox’s internal decline has been deeply troubling. If you’re someone who needs to believe in what you’re doing, reconsider Perkbox.