Outdated mentality - Senior Software Engineer Popsa Employee Review

1.0
10 Apr 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It is a nice product

Cons

Big talk around diversity, but they really just want one type of person to work there. WFH policy stuck in the 1980s. Management are unsupportive and detatched from their employees.

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Popsa Response
2y
Very sorry to read this review. We don't think it's reflective of our culture at all. We’re proud of to have a 50:50 gender split, people from 14 different countries, a great team spirit, and a WFH policy of 3 days in-office (with days organised so teams and chapters can spend time together). And we have flexible hours for those who need it. The office is always buzzing with meetings and catch-ups, and people chatting with each other at their desks and over lunch and snacks (there are loads provided) in our large dining area. It's anything but a quiet, stodgy place. Very few people, present reviewer excluded, spend their day with their headphones on not talking to others. We don't encourage or want that and the office is set up for the opposite! (Though you're welcome to get stuck in at you desk or in one of our privacy booths.) We think people do their best work when they enjoy their job and feel a part of something, so we make sure to have lots of events for team-building and just having fun. In fact we just came back from a company-wide away-day in Paris. If any of that sounds good to you, do get in touch and see for yourself.

Explore other reviews about Popsa

2.0
9 July 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I worked with some amazing and talented people at Popsa who I hope to remain in touch with for a long time to come.

Cons

I could not in good conscience recommend that anyone take a job here. Popsa has a top-down problem, where there is micro-management from the C-Suite to the point that staff are incentivised to cater to the personal tastes of the C-Suite instead of having professional integrity. This also results in a lack of long term strategy, and thus constant pivots to attain short-term goals (both financial and otherwise), whist ignoring and overruling the expertise of the staff who are professionals in their respective fields. There was also increasing pressure for us to come into the office on more days than originally contracted, and the unspoken expectation of answering slack messages on weekends and late into the weeknights. Most importantly, there was a very unsettling trend of very few people seeming to pass their probation, and various team members disappearing suddenly, mysteriously and regularly.

3
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Popsa Response
1y
We appreciate this feedback. Thank you for leaving it. We’re still a start-up, we sometimes have to react quicker than a more-established company might, but we don't ignore opinions and we don't ask anyone to do anything that would compromise their integrity. We maintain a long-standing policy of working from the office at least 3 days a week, except during peak when it’s 4. The Christmas period is critical for any e-commerce business like ours, and occasionally some people have to respond to an off-hours message. We’re an international business with customers across many time zones all over the world. Occasionally, if there’s a problem to solve, we might need to respond but we respect people’s down time. The flexible structure of a start-up can sometimes feel fast paced, and it’s not for everyone. Sometimes, for the overall good of the business, we need to part with really talented people; that’s never a decision we make lightly. We’re confident that overall this is a warm, accommodating and exciting place to work. The people here are highly respected, and both expected and enabled to do great things, which many other reviews here help attest to.
3.0
11 May 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Easy to navigate and overall enjoyed the customer bases and it's world wide

Cons

It was only a temp job

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