MSL Reviews

Working at MSL London was the most damaging professional experience of my life. After enduring over a year of toxicity, I finally left, with no job lined up, because staying any longer was costing me my mental health. I now attend therapy and take medication, a direct result of the stress I endured in this role. Leaving was something I should have done far sooner. On the surface, MSL claims to value inclusion and mental health, but it’s all performative. When I was diagnosed with social anxiety, there was no effort made to accommodate or even acknowledge my needs. The lack of empathy and understanding from leadership was genuinely shocking. The culture is manipulative and gaslighting is commonplace. You’re made to feel like you are the problem. You’ll be treated as both useless and a burden, while management dodges accountability. Only when you quietly compare notes with others do you realise just how widespread the dysfunction is. I’ve seen multiple people reduced to tears by managers who face zero consequences, while junior staff are ruthlessly punished for the slightest misstep. Challenge anything, and you’ll become a target. The work itself is mind-numbingly dull and repetitive, but leadership insists it’s groundbreaking. They manipulate you into believing you’re lucky to be there. The turnover rate is staggering, unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere, yet management remains wilfully ignorant, always blaming external factors instead of addressing the core issues within. This was my first and last experience in a PR agency. The pressure, the politics, the late nights without recognition, it’s not sustainable. Mistakes are amplified, praise is nonexistent, and the best opportunities are handed to freelancers or ‘teacher’s pets’ while others are left with tedious tasks they’re expected to be thrilled about. They will drain every ounce of energy you have. And when there’s nothing left, you’ll wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. It is. It always has been. In the end, suffering does bring growth. So in a twisted way, thank you, MSL, for showing me exactly what I’ll never tolerate again.