Shiny on the outside - Anonymous employee Bark Employee Review

2.0
Jan 21, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Like many reviews from the past have said the best aspect of working for Bark is the people around you. For the most part some of the hardest working and talented people I have ever met. The perks are nice I suppose but they feel like a way to entice talent with shiny trinkets, not enhance the everyday experience of working at bark. How much beer are you really going to drink?

Cons

In my opinion there are a few but those few are huge and make this an environment that’s near impossible to work in if you have experience and truly care about the work you do. -It very much seems like there are two types of people working here. Ones that care about the work they do and making sure everything is done well and on time and those that coast on their backs. Coming in sparingly and taking advantage of having been there for longer. The issue is that these two groups are treated the same. As in, management are either too busy or just don’t care to change the behavior. I understand wanting to foster an open working environment where if the work is done then you don’t need to come in but with that responsibility needs to be oversight. -there is zero transparency despite the founders touting it at every turn. For the better part of six months the entire e-comm department didn’t know if they had jobs and entire teams were still doing huge projects for them despite the founders knowing the department was being shuttered. It was apparently announced in the beginning of January by the CEO that they were closing the department but nothing was discussed further leaving everyone still in the dark. -the amount of money that flows out of the company for frivolous things is staggering. There was an entire company retreat to Columbus Ohio for 4 days where the company paid for last minute flights from nyc to ohio, all room and board, and 4 days of binge drinking in carnival tents. Spending what must have been at least a million dollars. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun but if you can afford that then why do I get paid so little? Why are pay raises frozen? I would have much rather been given 60% of the money you would have spent on me and stayed in New York. I can buy my own beer. There are are way more examples of this but that was the biggest. -people make it up as they go along. Being a startup comes with challenges. You don’t have the answers to how every aspect of a business should work. But that’s why when you become larger and more successful you hire people with experience, which bark does and is proud of. But that’s it. When that experience is attempted to be used there is severe pushback to. The point where nothing gets accomplished. God forbid this is your first job out of college. If it is then you’ll learn the wrong way to everything and be shackled until you’re inevitably fired.

Explore other reviews about Bark

5.0
Feb 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

mission-driven, everyone loves dogs, ability to work on challenging projects. Enjoyed my time there thoroughly

Cons

Benefits were good but compensation was a tad low from when i worked there. Things could have changed in the few years since.

2.0
May 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

decent benefits, good work life balance

Cons

let long time employees go with no warning

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