Worked at Papier for almost three years. They seem a bit clueless about what they're doing and are only fuelled by money and investment. The CEO is NOT your friend. He will speak with you like a good friend and have weekly standup meetings, brainwashing you, telling you it's the 'best company to work for in the world' and that the workplace is like family, whilst behind the scenes he is culling employees with the help of management. Everyone is anxious and on edge about keeping their jobs. They pay very little for industry standards whilst raving on their socials about standing for feminism, equal pay, mental health, Black Lives Matter and supporting the design industry. Working at Papier is anything but these. Diversity and inclusion doesn't even deserve one star - It was embarrassing to be a part of.
Promotions are hard to come by. During my time here I had seen many people who worked really hard in their own time, evenings and weekends, striving to push the business with no recognition and very little reward. They work people to the core until they are stressed and burnt-out. They make long-term employees feel so uncomfortable until they feel 'pushed out' and are then replaced by someone with the same experience and double the salary. I have friends who still work at Papier and I hear they're continuing to do this to employees, even during the pandemic.
Whilst working at Papier I lost track of how many of my talented fellow colleagues were 'pushed out' of the business because management decided to 're-structure' i.e find a cheaper alternative or decide they weren't good enough. One employee was taken out of the office and fired on the street with no warning.
The staff turnover is vast as they hire and fire if you don't 'fit in' with their standards. I only had one payrise whilst working at Papier which was next to nothing. They gave free lunches on a Friday, bread in the mornings for toast that workers would take advantage of for their lunches during the week and beers in the fridge for after work to make you feel like you should be excited to work here whilst being paid the minimum. You could see everyone swarming the kitchen on a Friday to eat as much as they could, knowing they wouldn't be able to afford that kind of meal for the rest of the week. The CEO would sit with everyone at lunch whilst ignoring individuals and only interacting with the original clique which made the environment extremely uncomfortable for newcomers.
The culture is toxic and it ruined my mental health as well as many others who I worked with. I will not be recommending anyone I know within the creative industry to work here or to collaborate with them. They have a beautiful website and well designed products that they rip off from independent artists and fashion-led brands. The creatives are made to compete against eachother which is no environment to thrive, progress or feel creative. I felt completely undervalued in my team whilst the in-house tech team, dominated by males are worshipped and pandered to.
If you are reading this and considering a job at Papier, please look elsewhere. You will not be appreciated and other than it looking good on your CV it's a waste of your career development. You can be paid much more with just as exciting opportunities elsewhere. This company is toxic.
