At first the owner will imbue new hires with superficial charm, promises of soaring profit shares, and all sorts of golden carrots. But it's all lies. The level of dishonesty, unprofessionalism and hostility at Westerlind is difficult to articulate. The organization is more of a labor camp governed by a myriad of disordered, coercive and fraudulent conduct by the owner. Here are a few things to expect.
Wage theft, particularly if you leave or are fired. Exploitation, manipulation, triangulation and constantly changing goals, systems, methodology and procedures. The owner will overload employees with pointless, mania driven side projects. So don't expect to have any time to do your actual job. Any binding agreements or contracts will be subject to change, without notice. This includes job description, salary rate, profit sharing parameters, time off etc. Nothing is off limits. Attempting to have any sort of boundaries around it is pointless. They will not only be ignored, but chastised and often berated. You can expect anything you say to be maligned, twisted and used against you. Most likely to pit other employees against you or to undermine the work you do for future bait and switch schemes. usually involving taking on more work for less pay. Drama will be constantly manufactured so the owner can solve imaginary problems, then act like a heroic business mastermind. Any attempt to address these issues will be met with punitive measures. Any praise or recognition is given purely for the sake of revocation in order to punish and devalue at a later date. And that date comes for everyone in the owners orbit. You will be kept in an ever evolving state of emergency panic and urgency as a method of deflection and confusion. The owner is avoidant, insecure, incompetent and will do anything to avoid accountability. You will be gaslit, fall in and out of praise and become a tool of manipulation. Any resistance will be considered betrayal and you will be labeled a problem or a liability. Lies will be sold with finesse, but follow through non existent, And who will take the blame? This is not a job. It is a role in a repetitive, existential, trauma resolution project. Engage at your own peril.