1. Disgraceful lack of accountability - on SEVERAL occasions I reported my own negative and uncomfortable experiences (further details below) to senior management and HR. This was usually met with an attitude that implied I was the problem, terms such as "you need to build a reputation", "you're not going to be liked straight away", "you're not a valued employee unless you've been here a year" and finally "do these complaints have anything to do with your lack of productivity?" were used. The latter two coming from the CEO himself. Have a look at some of their responses to other reviews on Glassdoor, that is EXACTLY how all company critcism is handled and it's very telling.
2. Pretentiousness &; Racism - The workforce is definitely diverse, which makes overhearing things like "stay away from that lot"- from a lead to a favoured employee, all the more shocking. "that lot" = a group black employees conversing. I saw this for myself. It's a shame because the environment presented to you during your interviews and the first few days is NOT what's really going on. Where you sit, who you talk to and when, what you do and how you do it is constantly being watched, judged and discriminated against - especially if you're not white.
3. NOT Inclusive - The environment does not favour introverted personalities, as being liked is far more important than being great at your job, however good performance helps when you're not popular. Not to say everyone at elements is extroverted, but not being so can come across as "anti-social". This cliquey behaviour causes a gossipy environment. When brought up, the explanation is most of the workforce is young, therefore immature and more likely to gossip. This excuse is lazy and unacceptable, company-wide gossip was only addressed directly when the CEO was a victim of it himself; the hypocrisy here is hilarious.
