Pros
The best part of Envato is the people who work there. In general, they're some of the smartest, talented, and most interesting people around. (Until they get too frustrated and leave, of course). There's supposed to be flexible work hours, and, if you're in the right team, an ability to work from home when you want. The CEO is a good leader. The foundation of Envato as a company was, at one point, strong.
Cons
Envato has a remarkably toxic workplace. In the last few months of working there, I've barely had a positive conversation about the company, and turnover has been high. I was largely driven out by one manager in particular, who targeted me through bullying, gaslighting and other forms of manipulation. When I discussed with HR - throughout my time at Envato - they seemed to not believe me, and said there was nothing I could do about it. This was despite my best efforts to document her behavior and to articulate just how damaging it was. I was only told that it was up to their manager to do what they thought was appropriate... and their manager did nothing. Their behavior eventually led me to a complete mental breakdown. To the credit of the HR team, I was given two weeks of mental health leave when I finally left - though perhaps just to avoid a workplace harrassment lawsuit. Meanwhile, the manager continues to work there today, where her behavior continues. How is this acceptable, Envato? Is that the sort of behavior that's rewarded? The culture of Envato varies widely between departments, so I can't speak for the experiences across the company. In the marketing team, it's tough, particularly if you are not in the inner-circle of management. People are told they "aren't allowed" to ask questions about the decisions of managers, and all points about being 'clique-y' in other reviews are accurate. I've never witnessed so much work politics, backstabbing, passive-aggressiveness, or complicated alliances. It doesn't help that the reporting structure of the department means that everyone is competing against each other, rather than working together collaboratively - which often means forgoing a smarter strategic plan in favor of quick-wins to boost the numbers of your own marketing channel. The 'perks' at Envato are so overhyped, and in some cases, inaccurate for them to claim. For example, Envato boasts about the opportunity for secondments - to spend some time working in other teams. In practice, this is incredibly difficult and requires a lot of office politics. In one case - of a coworker who worked directly for the chief commercial officer of the company - they only succeeded in completing a secondment because they were told they could "do their regular job on nights and weekends". To me, that doesn't seem like a 'benefit' to promote - that's just exploiting your workers and getting two jobs for the price of one, all because you've made it feel like it's the only way to get ahead. I was also told there would be no opportunities for growth in my role. For a company that prides itself on growth opportunities, well, that statement seems to directly contradict that. When I left, I was the third person on a team of 4 to quit within the span of a few weeks - others leaving for similar growth-opportunity frustrations. If you're looking for a place where your career has the potential to grow, take that into consideration. Envato's attitude towards diversity is... puzzling. There are lots of people at Envato who truly believe in diversity in the workplace - and plenty who don't. Overall, there is a strange, condescending attitude towards 'diversity initiatives', much of it coming from upper management. It's just not about filling quotas for new women hires. It's about taking a stand against sexist comments in all-hands meetings, and not rolling your eyes at anything diversity-related. There are people at Envato who insist that sexism or discrimination - both as concepts in general, and at Envato specifically - is somehow "not real". The original 'startup story' of Collis and Cyan - smart, young couple with a passion for a business idea, bootstraps a successful company - is a true one and a good one. Collis is a smart, inspirational person, who is kind, approachable, and fun to work with. If only he was around more to actually lead! With Collis focusing on other things and Cyan off launching a new chocolate company, they seem to have abandoned a sinking ship . Envato seems to hide behind pseudo-excitement and announcements - constant celebratory milestone parties, excessive boasting about their Code Like a Girl partnership, new product launches with thoughtless follow-through, mindless repeating of values, new artwork in HQ. Meanwhile, they ignore the actual growing discontent and unhappiness of their employees. Where there was once inspirational, thoughtful leaders, there are now numbers-obsessed managers, and a cold, corporate culture. It's a place where short-term thinking sales wins over any real strategy. In short, Envato feels like it has lost its soul. What could have been a great place to work was ultimately just a disappointing, frustrating, and damaging experience.
