A Toxic Environment - Recruitment Consultant Datasource Recruitment Employee Review

Challenging and good for developing your career

The worst professional environment I have ever worked in. I used to read reviews from years ago and be horrified that the experiences described were identical to the one I had, even after the company and the working environment had supposedly improved a lot from then! You will be belittled, humiliated, and manipulated and expected to take it all on the chin like it is normal management behaviour and not extremely toxic. You will be shouted at in front of the whole office for even the smallest mistake, and you will be constantly scrutinised and every move will be watched - down to monitoring how often you go to the toilet and how often you show up “late” at 8.25am (despite contracted start time being 8.30) - granted these two things themselves are micromanaging but not necessarily harmful on their own… What IS harmful is the huge shame culture. Everyone is pitted against each other and management will talk badly about employees TO other employees. You will be lifted up one day and told you have “it”, and the next day you will be made to feel like a complete failure. The office conversation is also often hugely unprofessional - inappropriate comments will be made to you about your personal life or about others. On multiple occasions, screenshots of female recruiters from other companies on LinkedIn were posted into Teams chats which everyone except the directors were in, and she would be body-shamed and slut-shamed for how she is dressed. You would expect someone to shut it down but you will be surprised as every single person in the office not only agrees, but takes part. If you value your mental health, do not work here. It is gradual: at first you are confident and feel like you are on a great path. The people are a little harsh sometimes but it is for your own growth, right? But then you make a mistake and you are publicly called out and humiliated for it. Everyone in the office will watch as you are shouted at and “made an example of”. And then it will happen again, and again, and again. Sundays become unbearable. Every morning you will contemplate carrying on straight past the door and not going in. You will start to lose yourself and spend all your time at your desk trying to say as little as possible, to work as quietly as you can and try not to give them anything to shout at you about - which means when you do make a mistake, you no longer feel like you can own up to it or ask for help, therefore making the problem worse and creating a culture of distrust and anxiety. Your mental health will rapidly decline and so will your physical health. No job is worth it, and it is NOT normal pressure to feel, no matter what they will try and tell you.

Located in center of Cheltenham,

Working at Datasource Recruitment was truly an awful experience. It felt like being in a toxic and unhealthy environment that I unfortunately had to endure for years. When I first joined the company as a young person, I was completely unaware of what I was getting into. I never imagined that I would be subjected to years of feeling unworthy and undervalued due to the pervasive toxic culture within the organization. The atmosphere at Datasource was suffocating, and it took me long time to recover from the toll it took on my mental well-being. The management's approach was particularly damaging, constantly undermining our morale and making us feel worthless. Despite our efforts to support each other, building strong relationships with other employees was challenging, as we were all subjected to the same mistreatment. Management's restrictions went beyond the workplace, as they even forbade us from spending lunches together and criticized us harshly if they heard about us meeting outside of work. This made it even more difficult to form genuine friendships and added to the overall toxicity of the environment. It was disheartening to witness how management actively discouraged camaraderie among employees, further contributing to the oppressive atmosphere. Considering my experience, I would strongly advise anyone thinking about joining Datasource Recruitment to reconsider. The toxic environment, coupled with inadequate compensation and lack of appreciation, is simply not worth the toll it takes on one's mental health and self-worth. It's a place where you're likely to feel undervalued, demoralised, and ultimately deeply unhappy.