Do not accept a job here. - Workshop Assistant Simbodies Employee Review

Moved to the local area for this position straight from university and what a mistake. I would not recommend any media makeup, wigs or prosthetics specialists - experienced or not - to apply or take a job with Simbodies. During job application and interview stages the image painted was of “one big happy family”. This was not the case. More like one big toxic family. In beginnings stages of application process, management state that all staff are super friendly and will go the extra mile to help you out with travel etc. Again, this was never the case. Unfortunately, most of the staff are so burnt out from management’s immaturity and lack of organisation skills, the thought of offering to take others home was just too much. A completely “doggy dog” business where employees are mistreated and devalued. Coercing new employees in with half truths and quite frankly being utterly fake on trial shifts because the company cannot retain staff. It’s evident management never considered if they treated staff appropriately, people would not leave. Therefore they wouldn’t have to waste time training new staff over and over. Upon arrival, I was expecting the job to be brutal at points. All prosthetics undergrads are warned and prepared, in their final years of university, about how tough the industry can be. However, this company was pure disorganisation, lack of functional management and zero respectful interpersonal skills. Most new staff move from out of county for this role - with big excitement for their career. Quickly they become crushed when discovering the reality of the environment. There were multiple occasions where new staff would not say anything all week, for months at a time. Additionally, multiple occasions where staff were blamed for lacking time targets because of “talking” - rather than management accepting their lack of organisation. It was obvious that management took on too much than they could handle. Hence, staff were often told they should not speak to each other in the workshop. This was/is isolating and therefore was/is a critical mental health risk for all employees. Unfortunately, that was never taken seriously either. Employees who were struggling or unhappy were told to “have a berocca” or “go for a walk” instead of being offered professional mental health support. If support was offered employees were often too scared to voice it, in fear of being perceived as “problematic” by management. Alternatively, they couldn’t be bothered with the hassle. I recall many employees struggling to get essential doctors appointments or have time off for medical reasoning because management assumed that people were lying in all cases. Most supervisors had a complete lack of empathy for their workers. Expecting people in workshop assistant roles to take responsibilities that was not included in the applied job description - such as training new staff. These members of staff were not paid accordingly for this extra responsibility nor warned of these expectations prior to accepting the role. Any staff making suggestions or complaints - in attempt to help or improve aspects of the company - essentially got black listed by management. Furthermore, anyone with a slight personality or opinion was painted by management as “problematic”. I recall multiple occasions of specific members of staff being ignored by management because management weren’t happy with them. Management acted like children in a school playground. Whispering in the workshop, about staff, to one another in the corner. Additionally, passing gossip around the workshop. Most disgracefully, multiple occasions of racism, homophobia and just general ignorance to social etiquette - that are the norms in 2024. One example, was assuming because someone’s skin colour was brown that they would have an arranged marriage??? Completely out of touch. Overall, I would NEVER recommend working at Simbodies to anyone from a media makeup background. This is the place where passion is crushed and authenticity is frowned upon. Not worth the expense. Not worth the time. Not worth the energy. I would suggest to find literally anything else.