I have to be extremely careful about how I type this because I don't want to step on any toes or make inflammatory/harmful statements, but I genuinely can't shake this weird feeling I have about my former employer. It's been bothering me for MONTHS and I need to hear feedback or I think I'll lose my mind.
To summarize, I was briefly employed at a small (start up) firm that has a very shaky reputation for their questionable tactics/business model. After leaving, (on good terms) I did what I always do after any internship or job opportunity – I left an honest, detailed review of my experiences on Glassdoor/Indeed. I would like to make it abundantly clear that the review contained no malicious language, no violent language, no insults. Nothing. The employer deleted the review, or filed to have it removed, so I left another one in case it was taken down as a mistake, but that one was taken down too.
Fast forward a few months and my former boss gives me a call. I thought this was strange since so much time had passed since I had switched jobs and left a review to begin with. As I suspected, my boss called me to ask me why I had left the reviews and if there was anything I'd like to discuss with them regarding my complaints. They insisted I was leaving multiple reviews, to which I replied “I wouldn't have left another review if my first review wasn't taken down.” My boss assured me my review was still public (it is not), and that I should “stop leaving reviews.” Not threatening, but also imagine being a young person in the industry receiving a call like that. Even though my former employer was not threatening, aggressive, mean, or rude – I was shaken to my core thinking I was going to be taken to court over a Glassdoor review. To be frank, I found the call redundant as nothing changed after our conversation, and I did not find it to be productive in any way. It seemed more like a “we're onto you,” type of thing from my perspective. I mean, what could you possibly expect to gain from a phone call like that?
I told them I meant no harm and was simply trying to give a more realistic perspective of my experience during my time there. I certainly wasn't trying to insult my former employer, or disrespect the wonderful, hardworking team of coworkers I was lucky enough to meet and network with. At the end of the day, I know people need to make money. I respect that. My goal was never to start some kind smear campaign against them. If anything, it was a way for me to leave anonymous feedback after having a less than pleasant experience, in hopes that my review could be helpful to someone else.
Again, no violent words or insults were used in my reviews or during this phone call, I simply meant to leave an honest recollection of my experiences to prevent someone from going into a very high-pace, stressful environment blindly like I did. I was working overtime as a contract worker, I was not eating/sleeping properly due to stress, and I was made aware by a colleague that my salary was (IN THEIR WORDS) a joke compared to his, for the amount of work and hours I put in. Which, I guess is standard at any startup in my former employer's defense, I suppose. Anyway – heavy claims aside, I had (and have) proof to back nearly every statement I made. Here's what I can't wrap my head around: I have an audio recording of my former boss trying to (for lack of a better term) guilt trip me for leaving a public review of my experiences on Glassdoor.
They said, and I quote, “We have a workforce of over [XX] employees who rely on {COMPANY NAME} [us] as their main source of income. Negative reviews like [the one you left on Glassdoor] can impact our employees' livelihoods… These [employees] have families and people to support financially…”
I've had time to process. I've gone to therapy (LOL). I've thought this through and sat on my frustration for a long time. But am I crazy for thinking that's bogus?!?! I understand that negative reviews and experiences fall under the category of “negative PR,” and can ultimately harm their reputation (MAYBE) in the long-run, but I felt like my former bossed missed every single thing I was saying, or trying to say, in the first place – and made it worse somehow?
I felt invalidated and patronized afterwards. I know this is a heavy buzzword that has lost its meaning but it really did feel like gaslighting to some extent. At first, I thought, “maybe it was my bad for agreeing to work for a low salary without doing sufficient research on startups and boutique agencies” or “maybe some jobs are just like that.” Again, I'm willing to admit that might just be the name of the game. What really disturbed me was my former employer's attempts to shame a former employee for their own shortcomings? It makes me sad to know there are people in the PR industry like this, because I love and respect this industry so much.
Anyway, I guess I just don't know what to and wanted to hear some feedback from other people who have maybe found themselves in a similar position. I think deep down I just want to be heard without fearing a lawsuit or being gaslit by older men in positions of power. I even feared speaking out on here for advice, but I figured it was worth a shot. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.