PressLogic reviews about "colleague"

take fifteen minutes walk from lrt station

Toxic senior management Workplace politics Coterie

Top management didn’t want to retain talents, poor management and no work life balance

Everything was going well until a change in management, with new higher-ups who know nothing about the market. Good colleagues who have been bringing in results have been booted out for some strange reason, while those with nothing to show for themselves remain. Instead of leading as managers should, this new upper management throws everything to their underlings even when it's not part of their job scopes, with the excuse that their underlings know the market better than them. Upp management people are nothing but figureheads and have not contributed anything positive to the team. When asked questions regarding certain processes, they are incapable of giving proper answers and even dare to say "I don't know". Company claims that funds are low (despite highest ever profits made in the past year) and as such we don't even get cab claims anymore, but while this is happening, thousands of dollars are being spent on unnecessary things like flights for said managers from HK to SG despite the existence of video calls. This clearly explains why we've never had year-end bonuses despite doing consistently well last year. Lovely to know that my bonus that could have been, went into funding someone's flights and hotels. Solid team members are dropping out one by one due to feeling unappreciated plus the frustration of dealing with stubborn and incompetent higher-ups. Those who are left behind are running on super low morale. Good luck to everyone, you're going to need it.

Colleagues will back step you

This company lacks stability and transparency. Their business strategy is always changing, and the turnover rate is so high that they could win awards for it. KPIs are also constantly changing, becoming more extreme and unrealistic each time. The management is incompetent. Most of them have limited understanding of the local market, and some even lack knowledge about the media industry as a whole. What’s baffling is their refusal to learn and adapt. They also evade responsibility and rely on local staff for suggestions and feedback, only to dismiss the advice and belittle employees in the process. Career growth is non-existent here. The employees who put in the work and deliver results are never recognised; instead, they face constant demeaning from HQ, and some have even been unjustly let go without valid reasons. Fresh grads who have proven their worth are still treated as inexperienced, too, and HQ never fails to remind you of it. The new local hires will also leave you wondering how they even got the job. Like the people who employed them, they possess a ‘pick-me’, cocky and self-centred attitude. They also lack the required experience and qualifications for their job titles, yet they behave like know-it-alls, unnecessarily asserting dominance over others, which is just ironic. One of them also behaves inappropriately and makes perverted comments, causing discomfort among female colleagues. And if you thought that the company’s benefits would redeem them, you are sorely mistaken. This company doesn’t provide a 13th-month bonus and offers a mere 12 days of annual leave. You can’t claim cab fares, too, which is stingy considering the frequent travel needed for media events or client meetings. There is no flexible work schedule. This company loves micromanaging employees so much that they expect staff to clock in and out when they arrive and leave. They even threatened disciplinary action to those who don’t. WFH was implemented only recently but it’s still on a “trial basis”, so this 1 day of remote working can be taken away from employees at any time. They also forbid staff to set their work status to “Do Not Disturb” when they’re on leave/sick, but the higher ups in HK are allowed to do so – double standards much?

hat do you even mean by 'meritocracy'? And what do you mean by 'chilled out'? With this level of extreme micromanagement and leadership that changes direction every single week, it’s impossible to tell if the employees are incompetent or if you are. If you’re so confident in your stance—that this is a high-efficiency company with a clear vision—then why are you so desperate to have people spam the boards? Companies like Google and Apple aren't afraid of bad reviews because they don't really get them; they don't need HR rushing in to scrub the comments and polish their ratings

no bonus and low salary

At least 3 experienced senior-level writers/editors have left the company within the span 2 months out of pure frustration with the company's toxic environment and inept higher-ups - if that mass exodus isn't a red flag, I don't know what is. Incompetent editorial manager from HK keeps trying to push her responsibilities to others, going so far as to label one of the editors a "mentor" to the creative that she was supposed to manage herself - thus effectively making that poor editor a supervisor (to someone OUTSIDE her team no less), albeit sans the supervisor title and pay that comes along with it. Literally only one strong member of the original team remains, while everyone else are new hires who lack experience and proper know-how, and are thus ruining the carefully-curated voice and image of the whole brand that others have worked so hard to shape. About half of them have questionable work ethic and are often bumming around during work hours, but they suffer no repercussions as these newbies are fresh blood that the clueless higher-ups have personally chosen to hire and are biased towards. One of the project editors seems to be having an illicit relationship with one of the video guys, always disappearing into the semi-cloaked meeting room and lying down on the sofa, doing personal "photoshoots", and bursting into loud (and very questionable) giggles while everyone else is trying to work. All this is happening while said project editor, who has zero editorial sense, can barely handle her light workload. There was also a lecherous old uncle colleague who made slimy comments that left multiple female staff feeling highly uncomfortable, and while a complaint was made to HR, he did not suffer any repercussions. The company is extremely cheapo and calculative, and will even question your toilet paper usage to the point of insinuating theft (yes, true story sadly). There is no water dispenser despite multiple staff asking for one for over 3 years, yet the company is super okay with spending money on pointless "world tours" for aforementioned inept managers to constantly fly down for things that could easily be settled in an FOC email or quick video call. Office lights were yellow when we first moved into our new space, and HR took HALF A YEAR to get them changed to conducive white lights for office use - and this was only after they got called out in a big group chat. Nothing ever gets done around here, so you can expect any sort of feedback regarding improvements to fall on deaf ears. Don't believe the company when they tell you that they have a "hybrid schedule" - their idea of this is just 1 WFH day, while other media companies have already moved with the times with 2-3 remote working days. Also, don't dream of getting even a 0.5 month bonus even if you OT or go above and beyond. You will never be valued or duly recognised no matter how much blood, sweat, and tears you invest in your role. All they care about is their own nepotism gang in HK.