Pros
- Excellent benefits package, including health insurance, hassle-free sick days, and - previously - relocation assistance and visa application support. - Filled with creative and kind people. - Had a fantastic office space while it was there. - Free meals.
Cons
Every company has its drawbacks that are generally manageable. Yes, TheSoul has its fair share of absurd bureaucracy, but that's something you can tolerate. Sure, there are countless "meetings that could've been emails" (despite the widely advertised #nomeetingspolicy), but that is bearable too. What isn't bearable, however, is the constant sense of insecurity that affects nearly all employees at TheSoul, except perhaps the top managers, in a recent year or two. Layoffs are frequent and brutal. Some employees are faced with the option of accepting a lower salary and relocating to another country at their expense if they wish to stay with the company. Others are let go with very little notice - not because they did something wrong, but because the company has "lost the need" for them. At times, entire floors of office space are given away, forcing the remaining employees to be sardine packed into the remaining areas, and sometimes whole buildings are shut down. The management remains completely silent about this, offering no explanation to the surviving nor dismissed employees, as if nothing happens. Not only do they not talk, but they try to keep the employees from talking either; recently they had shut down the channel used by departing (mostly laid-off) employees to say some kind goodbyes. The reason for that closure being it "wasn't actively used". It received new farewells several times a week. But I guess they prefer silence. They encourage people to run their farewell gratitude to others through HR first. If that's not censorship, tell me what is. There have been instances where long-term employees were dismissed not for reasons of optimization, but simply because someone higher up didn't like them. This only increases the sense of insecurity. You truly never know if you will still have your job tomorrow, or if they will "lose the need" for you as well, or maybe if your boss will get fired and you'll be offered to take over their AND your responsibilities with little (if any) pay raise - that happened several times. Exit interviews, retention etc. are non-existent by design; why offering you a higher salary, for example, if they can find someone who will agree to be paid even less than you were before? This is one of the worst states for an employer to reach. Minor issues can be overlooked, especially since the company used to be great. But this level of insecurity and disrespect cannot be ignored. Morale within the company is at an all-time low, and when people learn you've decided to move on, they silently congratulate you. To the potential employees I suggest considering other companies. Don't board the sinking ship; unfortunately your effort won't be appreciated there.
