Pros
The town of Kilkenny is a truly charming place to live, and the studio building has potential. I have met incredibly talented and supportive people, and when there is camaraderie among the staff, the social events are the best part of this place. The projects are high-profile, which is invaluable for the CV/resume and for learning new animation skills.
Cons
Disorganization and Poor Planning (Persistent): While project management may have seen slight improvements, planning and deadlines remain deficient and inadequate. The chronic disorganization is such that it has become common to have to extend staff contracts to compensate for production delays. This maintains an overwhelming workload on lower-level employees. Implicit Overtime (Pressure to Deliver): The company policy avoids explicitly asking for or demanding overtime. However, the pressure to meet delivery deadlines (especially during "deadline weeks") remains intense. Supervisors expect the work to be finished on time, which forces employees to work uncompensated extra hours on their own to ensure task completion and avoid negative repercussions. This perpetuates burnout and low morale. Bullying and Toxic Environment: A culture of bullying (often passive-aggressive or extreme micromanagement) exists among some supervisors. If you express a concern or state that a deadline is impossible, you are made to feel that you are not passionate enough about your work. I have witnessed the workplace being deeply corroded by a culture of systematic mobbing and defamation. Supervisors and employees coordinate campaigns of gossip and harassment that flagrantly violate the studio's stated values of inclusion, respect, and dignity. People feel free to judge and condemn colleagues based on unsubstantiated rumors, creating a constant atmosphere of hostility. This harassment results in severe psychological destabilization for victims, with consequences so serious that they have forced former employees to flee the country or Kilkenny. This toxicity is perpetuated because the human resources department may appear to act as an entity that solely protects the company and supervisors (could gaslighting victims and supporting witnesses) or could even firing them, This possibility prevents reports and guarantees impunity for Mobbers and harassers. Unfair Wages: Salaries are very low for the industry standard and the quality of the clients. Raises are nearly impossible to secure, and the company prefers to lose loyal staff rather than pay a fair wage. Rigid WFH Policy: Hybrid/remote work is only permitted for certain people under specific conditions, regardless of genuine employee need. The insistence on mandatory office presence maintains the constant circulation of viruses.
