I joined the OTC finance team genuinely excited to learn and contribute, but the environment I walked into was one of the most demoralising and poorly managed workplaces I have ever experienced. I was only in the role for four weeks, yet the issues became clear almost immediately, and the deterioration was so rapid that it was obvious the problems were systemic, not situational.
There was no real onboarding, no structured training, and no effort to support a new starter. I was expected to operate at full speed from day one on processes no one had ever explained. Whenever I asked for clarification, I was met with sarcasm, impatience, and outright dismissal, including comments such as “this is your job” or “it’s going to get harder.” I was even told I had “only managed to get one thing right” not as feedback, but as public humiliation. At one point I was laughed at in front of others for not knowing how to use equipment I had never been trained on.
This team talks about “support,” but the reality is gaslighting. Whenever I struggled, instead of offering help, I was told my difficulties were simply “my attitude” or “mindset,” even though the real issue was the complete lack of teaching or guidance. The moment I tried to advocate for my learning needs, it was turned into something to punish me with.
The workplace culture is extremely toxic. A colleague felt comfortable openly complaining about the job, the team, and other staff on my first day. That same negativity was later weaponised against me, while management ignored the real source of the problem. Instead of creating a safe atmosphere for communication, the environment encouraged gossip, judgement, and cliques.
Leadership demonstrated clear double standards. I was reprimanded for things that senior staff did constantly, long personal conversations, socialising during work hours, stepping away from desks, and bending rules they enforced strictly on others. It created an atmosphere of hypocrisy, favouritism, and exclusion. There was a clear divide between those who were “in” with management and those who were not, and new starters were treated as disposable labour rather than people worthy of investment.
The treatment around health and wellbeing was alarming. My legitimate medical needs were treated as an inconvenience rather than a duty of care. I was made to feel guilty for urgent hospital appointments and flare-ups of a documented condition. I was told things like “I can’t make a decision for your health,” instead of receiving understanding or flexibility. This is especially shocking from an organisation that claims to prioritise health and wellbeing.
The performance review I received was not a review it was a character dismantling. Instead of assessing my work fairly or asking how I was coping, it was used as a tool to blame, shame, and undermine me. Even senior HR acknowledged that the experience highlighted flaws in how new employees are handled, yet no responsibility was taken for the harm caused.
This job left me mentally and physically exhausted, ashamed, and doubting myself. The truth is: I was never given the tools, training, or environment needed to succeed. Instead, I was placed in a system where mismanagement, ego, and lack of emotional intelligence were the norm.
Boots promotes values of care, compassion, and wellbeing but those values were nowhere to be found inside the team I worked with.
I would strongly advise applicants to think very carefully before joining this department. A workplace with this level of dysfunction can damage confidence, health, and overall wellbeing. No job is worth that.