Toxic HR - Toxic culture - stay away - Engineer Philips Employee Review

1.0
Feb 6, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great brand, company and exciting strategy. Cross functional team members at Sonicare are generally very good, mostly everyone tries their best to team up despite being completely overworked.

Cons

The Sonicare business culture is laced with rumors and gossip about what talented and well liked colleague is quitting next, making it depressing and anxiety ridden. No one seems to want to stay, everyone wants to leave and actively searches for the right opportunity to get out. After you stay a couple years, anyone actually talented who values recognition and career growth leave because they know they can do better and not be constantly overworked. But, what I think makes it worst of all for employees is HR Leadership does not seem to actually like anyone and is by far the most toxic and untrustworthy of them all, which also seems to be highly linked to why all the good people leave. HR seems to continually get in way over their head, and can't seem to understand the business context or needs, frustrating everyone around them with very biased, uninformed opinions and forceful actions which aren’t effective and only leaves the employees worse off. While it appeared so very recognized and felt by the vast majority, it is somehow completely ignored by upper management, so the culture doesn't change, only just gets worse for the employees. It is shocking the destruction and disarray I saw caused by HR to the employees who are just trying to do good work, collaborate and grow the business, grow in their careers, on what seemed to be a weekly basis! Horrible to see so many employees treated so poorly by those who should be objective, promoting the removal of bias and prejudice from the workplace and that you should be able to lean on for help, career guidance and general support. Unless you want constant drama, stress, gossip, and your career to fall flat because of the major bias, seemingly reckless actions and negligence of HR, keep away for now - HR needs to change first. Hope Amsterdam chooses to actually address this massive issue for the team’s mental wellbeing and ultimately the company's success.

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Philips Response
5y
Hello, many thanks for taking the time to share your perspective. We deeply regret hearing that you experienced high work pressure and that you did not feel supported by the HR department. The experience you describe does not reflect the culture we strive to build at Philips and we would encourage you to contact the Philips Ethics line to enable the matter to be formally reviewed (https://bit.ly/3u70Lup). Furthermore, Philips Management is active on Glassdoor as well, so your review will be taken into account. We wish you all the best with your career.

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5.0
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Pros

Very cool company and pros

Cons

Nothing what I can think of

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Philips Response
1mo
Thank you for your review. It’s gratifying to know that you have such a good time in our company. We appreciate your contributions and wish you all the best.
2.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

- Easy commute if you live north of Seattle/Bellevue - Decent cafeteria - Decent compensation

Cons

- The level of apathy amongst colleagues is off the charts. Many people are simply coasting and collecting a paycheck. When you try to be a team player and pick up the slack, you simply become a target for blame. - Due to the extremely lax "return to office" policy, the office often feels quite empty when there is plenty of work to be done. Being onsite M-F often leads to more work with little support. - There is a culture of public shaming, with several meetings every week dedicated to project leads targeting individuals to make up for their own lack of technical understanding.

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Philips Response
16h
Thank you for sharing your perspective and for your multi-year dedication to our organization. We are pleased to hear that our competitive total rewards, inclusive workplace culture, and focus on flexibility have contributed positively to your employee experience. We acknowledge the feedback regarding organizational dynamics and the impact of structural changes on team sentiment. As we adapt to evolving market demands, we remain focused on change management optimization, enhancing transparent internal communication, and building long-term stability across our business units. We encourage you to reach out to HR or your manager for a discussion regarding your feedback. Once again, we appreciate your continued contributions to the team.
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