Great place to work - Intern Simple Mills Employee Review

Leadership, fast paced, great people

Not too many cons there

I worked at Simple Mills for 2 years, initially inspired by the mission and brand. But the idealism didn’t last — it was disheartening to see how little the company lives up to its values, particularly in its treatment of employees from underrepresented backgrounds.

Job Security is a Myth: You can be told you're “on track” in a review, only to be blindsided weeks later with vague feedback and a sudden termination. Expectations shift constantly, and leadership is quick to deflect blame onto individuals instead of addressing deeper dysfunction. If they want you gone, they’ll find — or create — a reason. DEI is Performative: The company was vocal about DEI in 2020, but those efforts were gradually dismantled. In my experience, high-performing team members from underrepresented backgrounds — including myself — were let go without a clear explanation. Inclusion felt more like branding than belief. HR Protects Leadership, Not Employees: HR doesn't operate with transparency. Layoffs are handled quietly, questions are deflected, and patterns of harm go unaddressed. Employees who raise concerns are left without meaningful support. My Experience: I was hired, praised early on, and then slowly pushed out, without support, communication, or room to be human. What began as encouragement became silence. For Black women, this silence feels even sharper — a textbook case of misogynoir at work. I’ve seen it happen to others too. Limited Disability Inclusion: Even basic accommodations are hard to come by. While the company talks about values, its actions don’t reflect a commitment to accessibility. Kindness is Conditional: There’s an appearance of warmth — Slack emojis, casual chats, celebratory posts — but that disappears when someone is pushed out. The culture leans heavily on appearances over authenticity. If you’re no longer useful, you're quietly erased. Pay Attention to the Patterns: Those who maintain a "polished" image and know how to “play the game” tend to rise. But if you’re someone who challenges the status quo — especially as a woman of color — it may feel like the odds are never in your favor. Misogynoir makes it clear: some identities are deemed expendable, no matter how hard you work. To Those Who Stayed Silent: There’s a tendency for employees to see themselves as progressive or thoughtful, but behind closed doors, there’s more fear and control than courage. If you didn’t speak up, you were part of the problem. And if you benefited from the silence, you still are.