Leaving Spur Was a Wise Decision - Anonymous employee Spur Employee Review

CEO Glenn Clayton's expectations are generally unreasonable. Though he rarely says it outright, the expectations he often communicates through his actions are that corporate employees at all levels (but especially those in leadership positions) consistently go above-and-beyond, work long hours, and be willing to drop nearly everything in their life outside of work to get the job done -- all while maintaining a stellar level of performance at all times. While a by-whatever-means-necessary approach to work is to be expected in certain situations, it is not healthy for this expectation to be the norm. Some corporate employees have stuck it out for several years, but many get burned out and leave (or are fired) without lasting two years. Turnover is notably high for middle and senior management (excluding C-suite) positions. In the spirit of radical transparency (a value regularly lauded but inconsistently practiced at Spur), I wasn't completely honest during my exit interview; I told HR I resigned because I was burned out and wanted a less hectic pace. While that reality largely informed my decision to quit, what I didn't articulate was that my burnout was a product of the work environment fostered from the top down. In addition to the relentlessly high volume of demanding work that accompanies most jobs on Spur's corporate team, the CEO can be frustrating to work for. His expectations often seem inconsistent and ineffectually communicated, especially in writing, where he can come across as erratic, hostile, and passive-aggressive. Most dispiriting is the reality that succeeding on Spur’s corporate team usually requires buying into the company’s ever changing mission and vision, which sometimes seem like chaotically moving targets. The clichéd startup ethos of “move fast and break things” is embraced in part to offset the fact that major organizational priorities can shift on a weekly basis.