Poor leadership and questionable employee treatment - Anonymous employee Shook Digital Employee Review

This organization had real potential, but that potential is undermined by ineffective leadership at the top. The founders’ decisions consistently hinder progress rather than support it. The company managed to bring in many talented and capable individuals. Colleagues were supportive, collaborative, and hardworking. Unfortunately, most of those people have since moved on, which speaks for itself. There is little genuine interest from leadership in employee development or long term growth. Instead, there seems to be a persistent distrust toward staff, as if employees are assumed to be acting against the company’s interests. Leadership behavior can at times feel unprofessional and counterproductive. Discussions and decision making are often dominated by emotional reactions rather than clear reasoning, which creates instability in priorities. A significant amount of time is spent in meetings that do not lead to meaningful outcomes, limiting actual progress. There also appears to be a gap in practical understanding of the market and how the work is executed on an operational level, which further affects the quality of decisions. While adaptability is expected in a startup environment, priorities here shift in an erratic way. Direction often appears to be influenced by trends seen online rather than a clear, consistent strategy. Despite repeated messaging about building a platform, that vision never materialized in a meaningful or visible way during my time there. Spending decisions are difficult to understand. Significant resources are allocated to company events, yet layoffs are later justified by financial concerns. For example, the Helsinki team was let go due to cost, only to replace them with outsourced freelancers, which does not appear to have improved outcomes. There have also been several disputes involving employees that escalated into legal matters, raising concerns about how people are treated and how decisions are handled. Overall, leadership appears primarily focused on maintaining the company and securing their own compensation, while employees are expected to navigate unclear expectations with limited support and below market pay. This is not an environment that reflects the fairness and transparency typically associated with Finnish workplaces. Anyone considering joining should carefully evaluate whether this is the kind of culture they want to be part of.