Now onto the bad, which is difficult because I don't even know where to start. A simple summary could be a hostile environment, obsessive and paranoid micro-management at senior level, a complete lack of honest communication from the company's directors (propaganda style pronouncements don't count), and a general atmosphere of utter doom that hangs over the place like a thunder cloud over a golf tournament.
The issues at GoEuro are many, but the root causes are easy to identify. There are obvious reasons why this company has the worst staff turnover, by far, of any company I have ever seen in my entire career. The turnover isn't confined to the lower eschelons of the company either, but runs right through the entire strata of the company like the words "Don't work here!" through a particularly grim stick of rock.
Wages and bonuses are below industry level standards which, when coupled with the CEO's numerous media appearences telling the world how much money he has, has quite a detrimental effect on staff morale. Add to this the fact that the company execs are very secretive about how the company is actually doing and most of the workforce already feel somewhat insecure and ready to jump ship should any other opportunites present themselves, or sometimes even if no opportunities present themselves except the deep blue sea and occasional passing shark.
In spite of the relatively poor levels of remuneration, workers at GoEuro are pushed to perform to beyond reasonable capacity, often resulting in people actually taking time off sick. But don't expect to find comfort in your malaise, they will pester you through phone/text message to get back to work, whether signed off by a qualified medical professional or not!
Another issue is that people are generally promoted or given better treatment by the company based upon how much they curry favour with the small cabal at the top, as opposed to those who are effective at their jobs or are honest. This has led to a situation where people are often afraid to deliver bad news or speak truth to power. The place has an atmosphere similar to that of a court of a volatile king that could come straight out of a Game of Thrones episode, albeit with less sex and violence but more spreadsheets and office furniture. Whenever a mistake is made or there is a mishap, people will look to find someone to blame rather than face the wrath of whomever sits on the Iron Throne, such is the culture of CEO's Landing. You shouldn't be doing this to the people who spend at least 40 hours of their week toiling away for you! This, in turn, is having a quite a serious impact on company performance generally, which again feeds into the general feelings of insecurity people have about their jobs.
The leadership team, or at least those close to CEO, are obsessively secretive, paranoid, and have a habit of trying to micromanage everything. They don't trust the industry experts that they themselves have hired, and instead make decisions themselves, without consulting the people who will have to implement those decisions, by simply forcing compliance from their staff. I'm not talking about junior staff here either, I'm talking about internationally experienced and respected professionals with a decade or more of success behind them, having their work or opinions simply ignored and/or discarded without reason or explanation. It is understandable that a company's leader has a destination in mind for his company and will do what he can to take it there. It is not understandable, in this day and age, for a company leader to not trust his crew, or refuse to listen to their advice on how to get to his desired destination when he is so clearly out of his element on some of the more complex requirements for the journey ahead. This style of leadership is intolerable to people who've fostered a career and reputation they treasure with pride, and was cited most frequently as the reason for senior people leaving during my time with the company.
The appalling treatment of the workforce doesn't stop at second-guessing and micromanaging their every move. There is virtually no work flexibility. You're expected to be in the office, at your desk, regardless of whether or not you could be being more productive elsewhere. This possibly stems from a lack of trust in the workforce to actually work if they're not properly supervised, a lack of trust which further damages an already dangerously fragile level of employee loyalty to the company. Career and professional development are none-existant. One of the supposedly big perks offered to prospective employees is an education budget. This amounts to 200 euros per year, which might get you a few books. Speaking of which, the other benefits listed for staff (travel allowance, free lunches etc) are considerably short of the industry standard. The free lunch is once a week for example. Every two weeks or so there would be complimentary drinks at a bar that someone at the company had picked. Though given staff morale it is not especially surprising that they choose to spend so much of the staff benefit budget on plying the workforce with alcohol, but this isn't for everyone.
Overall, this all results in a place which feels like the prison of Azkaban from the Harry Potter series, with the senior leadership team acting as the Dementors to suck all life and soul out of those doomed to be inmates within. It is a joyless and at times even depressing place, with any good relationships or comraderie among the staff being the result of blossoming friendships rather than a feeling of teamwork or belief in what they're doing. Friendships which, when they are noticed by some in the senior management team, are frowned upon - the result of an "us and them" outlook towards their own workforce.
