Draining - Software Engineer N26 Employee Review

- Grew way too quickly last year and the year before. Culture was not preserved and it created a lot of technical debt, as well as pummelling morale. - The first thing I noticed here was how antisocial the office is. People talk little with each other. Teams are often bubbles that barely interact with others. There are no social events other than Friday 6/7pm pizza to discuss the work week - Management pretend to be engaged and send round surveys etc but nothing seems to actually change. I just hear empty statements. - What were the first things to suffer come the COVID-19 crisis? Employee benefits were cut, half the design team (amongst others) were put on furlough, and come promotion time, no raises are given but instead virtual stock options with a list of conditions casting a shadow over their perceived value - Little support for the droves of people moving to working from home; it’s somewhat forgivable given the shock for everyone, but it was an opportunity to be supportive for parents with kids now always at home, people struggling with poor mental health, etc. All we were told was to “invest in our work from home setup” and to come back to the office as soon as possible. - Said office is dark and gloomy, the only colourful areas are the ones used for marketing photos. There are some nice goodies like barista coffee machines and beers/soft drinks, but given the lack of cosiness, I think they are meant to be enjoyed at your desk…