Democracy Reviews

One of the most old-school companies I’ve ever worked for. Incredibly toxic environment, you were looked down on for taking your lunch break or finishing on time, you were belittled openly if your ideas were not deemed worthy. There was ZERO training and development even though this is something Democracy claim to be good at. Bullying tactics were often used leaving numerous staff members in tears/ panic attacks... but if you showed any emotion you were called weak and told to leave the office. You were asked to be proactive and bring new ideas to the table, yet every time you did you were knocked back (in a nasty manner) A lot of gossip culture, numerous occasions where staff members were openly spoken about in front of people. Awful pay for the amount of work expected and absolutely no feedback taken from senior staff when pay/training and development was raised.

It is fascinating to see how the business owner has tried to cover up a terrible reputation. The company has another account on Glassdoor (Democracy) and the story is consistent across both. There is a long history of mental health problems, overworked staff, bullying, toxic culture and repeated public humiliation and it’s starting to be documented on sites such as these, after a long time being swept under the carpet; excused as ‘weak ex-employees’ not cut out for PR; ‘mistakes’ who know where the door is. Suddenly, in April 21, a flurry of positive reviews start to appear on both accounts. Presumably the owner has had her terrible reputation brought to her attention and instead of addressing behaviour, looking inward and at past mistakes, the approach instead has been to demand positive reviews from current staff. They make for uncomfortable and at times, laughable reading. Ask any business owner, recruitment consultant or PR agency in the North West - if they have heard of the agency at all, it will only be great work, terrible owner. It’s a shame because the agency has achieved so much thanks to some brilliant team members. For an agency with a fantastic record in crisis communications, it’s an interesting approach to take in response to a handful of truthful Glassdoor reviews. Unfortunate for a ‘digital first’ company that genuinely puts a lot of effort into recruiting fabulous talent. The huge contrast in salaries documented on here is also worth looking at. The agency works its junior staff members as hard as it possibly can. Staff brave enough to make a case for a pay rise are belittled and told they should count themselves lucky. Staff are outright told not to concern themselves with salary progression of other team members. Each is paid a fair wage. But the new additions to salary appear to reveal either someone is being deceitful or are happily taking home more than £70k a year while others risk their mental health to scrape by on less than £19k a year. Likely this revelation will cause further headaches for management... If you value work-life balance, integrity and mental health, you won’t be applying for a job at this agency.