Growth Opportunities - werkgeversreview Data Scientist bij Phitopolis

Technical team was amazing and kind.

High performers are penalized rather than rewarded, if you complete your work quickly, you're left idle with no additional growth opportunities or responsibilities. HR lacks any formal system; plans change without notice or consistency. The work culture is more performative than real. Perks exist, but the core issues, HR inconsistency, lack of structure, remain unaddressed.

I worked with some genuinely kind and capable colleagues. Many people on the team were pleasant to work with, supportive, and hardworking. The office location is also convenient because it is in BGC.

The company culture was not a good fit for me. There is a strong sense of superiority in how the company presents itself, including language around being part of the “elite” of the tech world. Personally, I found this uncomfortable and did not agree with that mindset. Management felt overly controlling, with too much influence concentrated around certain leaders. In my experience, there were comments and attitudes from leadership that I found discriminatory and disrespectful toward Indians and Filipinos, which was especially disappointing given the number of Filipino employees in the company. The company has activities and perks, but to me, they felt more like a mask for deeper workplace issues than a genuine sign of care for employees. It had the same energy as “weekly pizza because we are family” while ignoring how employees are actually treated. I also noticed that management seemed to prefer interns from well-known universities. In my experience, when applicants or interns came from lesser-known universities in the Philippines, management spoke negatively about them. This added to the feeling of elitism and lack of respect for people from different backgrounds. I also felt there was a lack of respect from management toward other types of work and workers, such as janitorial staff, drivers, fast food workers, and other staff roles. The way some members of management spoke about these jobs made it seem like they viewed them as beneath them, which contributed to an elitist environment. Although the office is in a good location in BGC, I felt management often used that as another way to compare themselves to others. There was a repeated attitude that the company was better because it could afford rent in BGC, which again contributed to the overall elitist culture.