Anonymoys W.

This review isn't going to be like the others here. This is because I wasn't a HM customer… I was someone who worked for HM. And let me tell you, working for HM was the single worst career choice I ever made.

I'm not going to say what my job was, partially to protect my identity should the former CEO read this, but also because I was shunted between so many departments without adequate training that I'm not entirely sure anymore what my job title would be. All I'll say is that I was one of the lower-paid team members. And, as of this writing, underpaid – I'm still missing a month of my contracted salary.

There was a consistent feeling throughout my colleagues that this company was failing and that it was only a matter of time before it completely crumbled. Which, inevitably, it did at the end of 2020.

Even if the company wasn't failing, it was still a toxic atmosphere to work in. Because the majority of us were working remotely, almost all communication happened via written messages on Discord. On this platform, the CEO had a habit of writing lengthy, belittling and demeaning messages should they find something to criticise.

One time, they wrote a rant with the [at]here tag which must have been at least 6,000 words long. If my memory serves me correctly, this rant was about the number of refunds that were being sent out to customers who never received their products. Which, as one can read when browsing through the TrustPolit website, was a lot.

I did consider writing quotes on this review, but I suspect that if I do, the CEO would be able to search through the Discord chats to see them and figure out who I am. Regardless, if any of my former colleagues are reading this, they'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

The few of us who were brave enough to confront the CEO and suggest ways to improve things (e.g. Having humans respond to the complaint messages rather than automatic "We'll respond when we can" messages), we were consistently shut down and made to do things their way.

Another thing the CEO had a habit of doing was completing the job for us. We'd do the job before the deadline, often exactly as specified (or as close to it as we can), then the CEO, unsatisfied with the end result, would swoop in and re-do the whole work the way they suddenly decided they wanted it. Which made me often question why I bothered trying in the first place.

It's ironic that the brand was all about living healthily. My mental health was so badly degraded throughut my time working for HM, I very nearly attempted to take my own life. The only reason I didn't was because my partner caught me in the act and physically stopped me from hurting myself.

It's not healthy if over a year into working for a company, every Monday when the work week starts, I get a knot in my stomach because I'm thinking "Oh my God, what am I going to say or do wrong this time?" In hindsight, perhaps if we weren't all working remotely, someone could have seen that something was wrong.

To be clear, HM were by no means the only factor in me developing suicidal thoughts – a lot happened in my life before and during that time. Even so, they were certainly a large part of it.

Since HM closed down, I have managed to secure work elsewhere which has been much better for me mentally. Working for minimum wage isn't as good as the salary I was contracted for, but at least I know I'm actually going to be a) appreciated and b) paid on time. So, all in all, I'm in a much better place.

If I could pay back each and every one of HM's customers who never got their products and/or their money back, I would. None of you deserved to be victims of the CEO's exceedingly poor management. Like I said though, I'm still owed a month of what my contract said I'd be paid for. And I don't think I'm going to get that money back any day soon. At least, not from them.

I don't wish ill on the CEO or any of my colleagues. I hope they all lead good lives and can move on from HM. That being said, I am never working for the CEO again. I don't care if they offer me a job that can make me a millionaire – I'd rather have my life.