1. Horrible work/life balance. My days were so packed with meetings and responding to emails that I could only get actual work done after 6pm or at weekends. I didn't take a single vacation during my two-and-a-half years at Eataly, and when I eventually put in a request for time off (due to total burnout) it was denied on the grounds we were too busy.
2. Poor organization and impossible expectations. I was required to oversee the creative output at all existing and upcoming North American locations with a small team that did not expand as rapidly as Eataly's network of stores. As a consequence every year the same few people were doing more work under increasingly difficult circumstances. By the time I left I was basically doing three jobs.
3. Non-competitive compensation. Given my position I should have been earning twice as much. I was essentially the corporate creative director but my meagre salary was comparable to what an average senior designer makes in New York City. Though I brought up this issue when appropriate, at no point did the company show any openness to discussing a raise.
4. A cult-like company culture. Anyone unwilling to worship at the altar of Eataly (or spend their life between an office or an airport) is eventually outcast. That's exactly what happened to me — and they didn't even bother to come up with a valid reason to let me go.
*This Dante quote from "The Divine Comedy" is actually displayed above the entrance to the corporate office. I guess I can't say I wasn't warned...