Avoid certain departments - Anonymous employee Somerset House Employee Review

This institution operates under a veneer of modern diversity and inclusion that, in reality, exists only on paper, masking a deeply conservative and regressive internal culture. There is an exhausting disparity between the immense pressure placed on underpaid frontline workers and the constant, top-heavy recruitment of "Head of" and Director-level roles, which consistently overlooks the dedication of junior and middle management. Strategic financial decisions feel misguided, often prioritising executive expansion over the support of those driving the actual work, leading to a workplace where money is saved in the wrong places at the cost of morale. This rigid hierarchy is further stifled by senior leadership who routinely dismiss innovative ideas from those "below" them, only to later repackage and claim those same concepts as their own; furthermore, exceptionally talented colleagues are frequently viewed as a threat to be managed rather than an asset to be nurtured. Professional growth is virtually non-existent due to a controlling and manipulative management style that HR fails to address, effectively permitting a culture of bullying and micro-aggressions to persist unchecked. In an environment where scapegoating is a common practice and colleagues naturally lack trust in one another, cross-functional collaboration becomes nearly impossible. This result is a fractured, siloed workplace that struggles to streamline its vision or value its most vital human assets.