Felt Like Part of the Tech Twilight Zone
Pros
Office location is near great lunch spots at the nearby mall. Always got paid on time, and although benefits were lacking, there was basic coverage.
Cons
Where to begin? Working for this company was one of the most confusing, energy draining, unhealthy work environments I have ever been a part of. I’ll be honest, the underlying business model of the company makes a lot of sense. However, I feel the management is completely blowing the opportunity. It’s very tough to come in to work motivated every day when management boasts that there is a clear path forward to make the company successful, but their actions demonstrate just how distracted and confused they are. There is no clear understanding within the company of what we’re all working for, and it gets even foggier when the CEO pursues random opportunities that don’t relate to the core business model just to make a quick buck. Aside from this, I feel management really truly does not care about their employees despite their efforts to appear “thoughtful and nurturing”. There is no guidance from upper management, and you’ll routinely find yourself being asked to accomplish a near impossible ask with 1/4 of the timeline and budget you actually need to do a good job. Products within the company are mediocre at best because they are not given the time and attention they deserve. Management pretends there is a level of ownership over your projects, but when you thoughtfully put together a plan of attack, it’s quickly replaced with a random plan that was constructed on the spot by management, and you’re expected to execute on that plan with nearly zero time or budget. As an employee, not once did I feel excited, happy or fulfilled by a project and typically felt so disappointed by the work we were forced to push out that I was afraid to even share what I was working on with friends and family out of embarrassment. It’s extremely clear that the management team doesn’t truly understand most of what makes their business tick beside how to cram more ads into something. Lastly, the personalities and demeanor of the management team, particularly the CEO was extremely tough to face and manage day to day. At times felt like I was working for a 10-year-old with a blank check. The company is run by a very ego driven team that will do anything for attention or a little extra cash. The CEO asks for ideas and will push hard for creativity out of everyone but will actively make you feel like an idiot for not coming up with exactly what he had in his mind, despite the ideas regularly being what’s best for the products and the company as a whole. When things aren’t going their way, the CEO and COO will regularly disappear into the conference room to “catch up” and discuss everything they don’t want regular employees to hear. So much for “transparency”. Because of this, employee turnover is through the roof as after about 2 months into the job, it begins to settle in exactly what you have gotten yourself into. I know that for myself and others, this was a squandered opportunity that pushed me to a mentally unhealthy level that my friends and family could see weighing on me. Outside of work, members of management are actually fairly nice and reasonable to be around, but in my opinion, they don't deserve to be running a company. I highly recommend that for anyone considering Maple Media to think hard about if it’s the right step for them.