Prepare to be ‘eliminated’ - Anonymous employee Handshake Employee Review

1.0
Jul 17, 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The colleagues that turn into great friends because you’re united in stress and chaos. Oh but do prepare yourself for the heartbreak of seeing these colleagues succumb to the latest round of ‘eliminations’. One day they will be working until 10pm, sacrificing their personal life, the next all of their accounts will be deactivated and you’ll be told not to ask questions and carry on as usual.

Cons

Where to begin?! All of the positive reviews you read on here are posted by management out of fear of being chastised by the CEO. Notice all of the repeat ‘rocketship’ mentions? Yes, you get the picture. I’ve never experienced corporate gaslighting like at Handshake - the lies and manipulation that staff are subjected to is horrifying. Add in the self doubt and constant stress, you’ve got yourself a recipe for a very unhappy life. They will tell you in one breadth that your mental health matters and they’ve got mechanisms in place to support you, you know, the classic corporate smoke and mirrors. But next thing, the VP attempts a motivational speech in which the team are told they must ‘forgo vacations’ to make the company succeed. Oh and if you do get chance to take that precious vacation - be prepared not to relax as you will have forgotten how to do so.

Explore other reviews about Handshake

5.0
May 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Convenient as it was remote

Cons

No cons, other than it may take a bit to get paid

1.0
May 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Challenging, interesting position in the short term.

Cons

The company has implemented a new timer policy that has “active” and “inactive” time on the backend that makes up for the total time. We were getting paid by total time (as you should), but HAI has changed it to only pay contributors for the time marked “active.” Time is “active” when scrolling, typing, and clicking within the specific task tab. Time is “inactive” when none of the previous actions are happening; i.e., when reading the task without moving the mouse or pressing keys, researching in another tab, etc. It sounds like they have changed the rules to only pay for active time, which has caused huge pay discrepancies. The percentage of inactive time is usually way more than active time on these timers due to the amount of reading, visual analyzing, thinking, and research required for some tasks. This behavior is unacceptable because time that seems “inactive” is still important to the quality and completion of tasks. They keep throwing accusations like “time thieves” around to justify it. If you respect yourself, pack it up and go somewhere else. I know most people who work at these places are desperate for income, but that’s exactly what they’re hoping for. They’re hoping you will be desperate enough to be taken advantage of.

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