Overall, it is not all bad experience. The future projects are interesting and I learned a lot but the toxic culture made it hard to fully enjoy the experience. The good thingsWork life balance
Supportive work culture (non-traditional)
Employee engagement
Flexible and shortened working arrangements
The challengesThe management led to some budget limitations such as difficulties in retaining great talents, updating and improving compensation/benefits in the market and addressing employees' needs through improved benefits. They have time, effort and budget in hiring and replacing talents but no budget for retention.
As a start up company, office politics is inevitable and arise due to overlapping roles and favoritism. There are also limited resources that made it challenging to perform tasks effectively (knowing that one of the core value is passion for excellence) and employees had to improvise frequently - especially in tight budget and financial constraints.
Moreover, startup company like PHC often cannot compete with larger companies in terms of benefits and compensation. Performance bonus and14th month pay are nonexistent and healthcare coverage, retirement plans and allowances are minimal compared to established companies.
Lastly, one of the major challenges is the toxic vibes from some coworkers (especially the Gen Z employees). Gossip was constant, cliques were a thing and people were more focused on competing with each other than actually working together. It crated this low-key stressful and unproductive energy that made coming to work harder that it needed to be.
The company has so much potential, but they need to invest in creating a healthier culture. Things like strict and clear policies on professionalism, proper office etiquette and better leadership and better boundaries (since most of the leaders do not set boundaries to the point that respect is not already given - e.g. joking, that lead to unprofessionalism in the workplace) involvement could really fix the situation.