There are so many. The office culture is very much one of put up and shut up. The management, including the MD treats employees like children, unless you are lucky to be flavour of the month or simply billing lots. The working envoronment is very much a blame culture where people work in constant fear.
The hours are long and at times just painful. If you regularly come in early, the moment you have a couple of occasions of being late, even if by a few minutes employees get told off or disciplined. Most staff don't dare take full lunches. The MD will tell you that you can raise any issue in confidence but that simply isn't true. You can't. Some decisions that don't make sense, if you query them with your line manager you get shouted at or disciplined.
The annual christmas party which is supposed to be a thank you to staff for your efforts over the last 12 months, YOU PAY FOR! You have to pay for Secret Santa, a mandatory charity lottery ticket to win lame prizes, a fancy dress costume and then your own drinks, apart from the first round or two. It's hardly a thank you Leaving the party early is hugely frowned upon, not going at all is just unthinkable, unless you want the stress of dealing with snide comments or a telling off.
If you want to bring your lunch in, you have to put your food in matching tubs with your name on and this is enforced with an iron fist. If someone falls foul of the rules the whole office is punished by the kitchen being closed to staff.
All management decisions begin and end with the MD. He is judge, jury and executioner. The HR dept is a front, if the management want you out, you're a marked person. It's very much shoot first then ask questions later. Exit interviews are a pointless exercise.
To be treated like children day after day is wearing which is why everyone ends up leaving for more money and still the management don't see it or accept they do anything wrong. Basically every employee is expendable at every level apart from the MD.
