Beware - Avis employé Senior Asset Manager Future Electronics

Low pay considering the industry standards. I wish anyone looking for a promotion the best luck in that respect as it truly requires nerves of steel. The process is almost entirely opaque and extremely frustrating. You might get pitched a higher position when upper management are in a desperate situation or when they need someone as a 'back-up'. Then you might not hear anything for months or years. On average, promotions take around a year and a half to materialize (if you are not personal friends with the higher ups) and that is with constant chasing for updates by yourself and your direct manager. They will give you a 'development plan' which will imply a lot of work and hours. The thought-process is that you need to be doing the job for an extended period of time before you can be considered for the job (which you are already doing or can clearly demonstrate that you are completely qualified and capable of doing). No compensation of course. Sounds reasonable, correct? Recruitment scouts are rubbing their hands now as there is very likely going to be a mass-exodus from the EMEA branches. During the pandemic, all employees worked from home full-time for around 2 years which, ironically, was also the most profitable time for the company as the market was doing amazingly well and everyone was putting in massive amounts of work. After this, we had a gradual return to the office and settled on a hybrid working formula of 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home. We have now been informed that we will all be required to go back to full-time working from the office (no exceptions) starting at the end of the month. That is 3 weeks’ notice. This was the only perk/benefit this company ever gave to most of its employees and it was only in recent years that they did so. The 'reasoning' for this is that those high profits from the pandemic have reduced. This is true, but that period was an exceptional case. The electronic components market fluctuates greatly, and this is a low point which has nothing to do with the commitment and effort level of the employees. All other electronics manufacturers and distributors are reporting the same situation, so this isn't a Future-problem. Therefore, we are basically being told that the high-profit times were due to the market, but the lower-profit times are due to our own faults. Mind you, we are still a profitable company. I would like to add that while there are a few bad apples, most people work extremely hard and even put in (unpaid) overtime. This company has a habit of not dealing with the problem, in this case people who aren't pulling their weight, but punishing everyone, no matter their track-record. This just adds insult to injury to everyone diligently doing their jobs and even going above and beyond as so many have this far. My prediction is that the time for that has ended. There has been no regard given to the fact that employees have organised their lives around this hybrid working pattern, the financial and time impacts this will have on them or the fact that we kept being told that working from home will continue indefinitely so people have invested a lot of money in equipment which, of course, will not be remunerated. Also, anyone hired during or after the pandemic was advertised the position as 'hybrid' and 'flexible'. This flexibility is the only reason many employees have stayed with Future for so long, despite the pay, lack of benefits, long travel times and costs, stress levels, workload, micromanaging and lack of prospects (for so many). I would like to add that the top management who made this decision were not the ones who informed the employees. Instead, they forced the HOD's to do so, despite the fact that none of them agreed with this measure (and nobody can perfectly fake acceptance of such a disappointment - everyone is affected more or less). Also, some people were just never officially told and found this out from conversations with others which is even more disrespectful. After the announcement, there were desperate people with tears in their eyes around the building, a truly heartbreaking sight. These people now need to figure out on just how little money and free time they can survive on... This is a very expensive area, and most people cannot afford to live near the Egham office (definitely not on our current wages). The atmosphere changed dramatically, and the grief has been palpable in the air ever since. In one swoop, they have managed to destroy any commitment and respect for the company and its leadership. Making such a rash decision with no basis in logic on such short notice has managed to shatter any illusion anyone has ever had of being respected and valued here. Additionally, this measure has only been taken in EMEA (not in America or Asia), which is ironic for a company promoting 'equality, diversity and inclusion'. Future used to be a privately-owned company where employees actually felt respected and valued, but the downward slope had been palpable for a while, especially after the acquisition. I would advise people to stay away as almost every company out there offers flexible working now and even additional benefits like free travel, better maternity and paternity leave, childcare and others. Less stressful, lower-responsibility positions are available with better pay and benefits. Resignations have already started coming in and this process is soon to accelerate which means that the employees left will be even more aggressively overworked. In conclusion, this could actually be the worst time to join this company.