- **Culture:**
The company culture often reflected a "boys' club" mentality, particularly within the trade show environment. These events, while intended to drive business opportunities, often resulted in excessive spending with minimal ROI. Instead, they were frequently used as opportunities for personal indulgence, particularly with alcohol, rather than fostering professional development.
- **Layoff and Severance:**
My layoff, which stemmed from corporate restructuring, could have been avoided had leadership taken a closer look at meaningful cost-saving measures. The severance package was minimal—$3,500 without a non-compete agreement or $9,000 with one—and was significantly reduced by taxation, leaving it inadequate for employees with less than five years of tenure.
- **Compensation Practices:**
Compensation was highly unfair, with minimal raises (as low as 1%) often tied to managerial favoritism rather than performance. Pay transparency within my team allowed us to address discrepancies directly with HR, which was necessary as our manager failed to advocate for fair pay and focused more on appearances than team support.
- **Management Issues:**
Tenured managers often displayed a sense of invulnerability, resisted constructive feedback (especially from women), and lacked accountability. This created a non-collaborative team dynamic where managers took credit for their teams' work without advocating for proper recognition or compensation.
