The most difficult and disappointing place to work at - Manager Westerlind Employee Review

1.0
Apr 12, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

At first the environment is masked as friendly and welcoming - until they begin "discovering" what tasks you're good at. From there you are regularly asked to do work that has nothing to do with your original role. It is a slow and calculated shift, using your strength while stretching your boundaries without consent. The founder Andrea Westerlind lacks the core qualities of true leadership - communication skills, empathy and basic human decency. She seemed intimidated by other's opinions and ideas, refusing to apply them thinking her opinion is the one worth acknowledgment.

Cons

The founder, Andrea Westerlind is incredibly hard to work with. She often dismissed employees who voiced constructive ideas for improving the business or worse - get rid of them. Refused to hire a professional cleaning crew and made the store team responsible for tasks like washing windows and cleaning the entire space - on top of the regular duties, with no additional pay. Acts of kindness or going above and beyond were not acknowledged. Safety issues were ignored. I found the leadership to be inconsiderate and lacking empathy. On a personal note, I was fired after taking a sick day - despite clear communication. Narcissistic, degrading, abusive environment. Many people ended up quitting because her behavior pushed them beyond their limits. The turnover was high, and it was clear why - the way Andrea abused her power made it unbearable to stay.

Explore other reviews about Westerlind

5.0
Aug 2, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amazing team of talented people. The owner is very inclusive in buying decisions and always open to new ways of doing things. Overall the company pro active, learns and grows in a positive direction.

Cons

As a growing business there are always issues to iron out. But overall this gets done in time.

1.0
Apr 20, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The products are beautiful, and many of the employees kind and doing their best in a challenging environment.

Cons

The core issue is a lack of structure and communication from leadership. Expectations are rarely clear, priorities change without notice, and employees are expected to absorb the resulting chaos. There is little formal management in stores, so staff are left troubleshooting, making operational decisions, and keeping the stores running without clear guidance. Communication largely happens through personal text messages at all hours, including days off, which erodes professional boundaries and creates constant confusion about what is an actual priority and who is responsible for what. A consistent pattern is that once leadership identifies your strengths, you are repeatedly asked to take on additional work outside the role you were hired for. When employees attempt to request appropriate compensation for additional work or maintain the boundaries of the job they were hired for, it can be met with pressure and criticism. This creates an environment where responsibility expands while compensation or titles do not. Which leads to low morale among employees, and unsurprisingly, high turnover. There is also significant pressure placed on retail employees around sales performance despite the fact that associates are hourly, not on commission, and have little control over customer traffic. In a seasonal tourist region, slow periods are highly predictable, yet employees often absorb the stress and accountability for these business realities.

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