Toxic - Designer Topiarius Employee Review

• Talented Team: The organization is filled with incredibly talented, hardworking people who care deeply about their craft and the final product. • High-Quality Portfolio: The company produces beautiful, high-quality work that aligns with the positive client reviews seen online, making it an attractive place for anyone passionate about high-end landscaping. • Internal Growth: There is opportunity for advancement, as evidenced by my promotion from a supervisor role into management.

• Toxic Leadership Culture: Ownership, particularly the CEO, creates a highly stressful work environment characterized by constant task whiplash, poor communication, and inconsistent standards. Management is often driven by creating an atmosphere of fear rather than support. • Operational & Safety Hazards: Despite generating substantial revenue, chronic financial mismanagement leads to severe cash flow issues. Operations are frequently left without the proper tools or equipment required to complete jobs safely, forcing management into the unacceptable position of sending field crews into hazardous working conditions. • Ineffective Executive Management: The COO lacks industry experience and is completely detached from day-to-day operations. In two years, she never visited a job site, never participated in morning load-outs or afternoon load-ins, and contributed nothing to extensive meetings. Her role and value to the company remain entirely unclear. • Severe Bureaucracy & Bottlenecks: Despite managing over $2 million in inventory for my department, basic and inexpensive operational requests—like purchasing microfiber cloths—would routinely take weeks or over a month to get approved. • Insular Management: Immediate supervision has a very narrow view of the industry, having never worked outside of this specific business, which severely limits progressive decision-making and operational growth.

Nothing about the company is a Pro, The work is fulfilling but the people that manage it make the work impossible.

Management style is controlling and micromanaging rather than supportive Lack of professional development opportunities or mentorship Decision-making is not transparent and often feels arbitrary High turnover in design positions due to management issues Favoritism and inconsistent treatment of employees Leadership is not receptive to feedback or employee input Morale is consistently low across the team Any opinion that isn't complete support for the management is seen as insubordination. Management has a history of acting in retaliatory manner towards employees.