Deel

Remote working is a major positive. The flexibility is genuinely appreciated. Unlimited leave is a good benefit. Deel’s influence did motivate me to start looking at better opportunities and reassessing what I want from an employer.

The culture has changed dramatically, and not for the better.

One of my biggest concerns is the apparent lack of an employee-retention culture. Long-serving employees, or PaySpace OGs, can feel increasingly disconnected from the company and its direction.

The social culture that once made PaySpace feel like a community has largely disappeared. Existing socials were replaced with Deel dinners, and from my perspective, this was a major mistake. Attendance from many of the long-standing PaySpace employees noticeably declined after this change.

The annual end-of-year functions were another example. These were events that many employees genuinely looked forward to every year. Removing them and effectively replacing them with nothing felt like another unnecessary loss of something that contributed to the company's identity and employee morale.

The human element has been replaced by automation.

There seems to be an increasingly heavy dependence on AI. From my experience, this has gone beyond using AI as a productivity tool and has started affecting how the company approaches staffing and communication.

When positions become vacant, there can be an expectation that AI should help fill the gap rather than necessarily replacing the employee with another person. Whether intentional or not, this creates the impression that headcount and people are increasingly being viewed as costs that technology should eliminate.

Communication has also become increasingly chatbot-driven. While automation has its place, there is a point where efficiency comes at the expense of human interaction. In my experience, that point has been reached.

It is genuinely possible for someone to leave the company and for colleagues to only discover months later that they have left. That says a lot about how disconnected the organization can feel now.

Career progression can also be frustrating.

If you want a promotion, you are expected to build a detailed case explaining why you deserve it and provide evidence to support your request. Having a formal promotion process isn't inherently bad, but the experience can feel like employees have to fight to prove their value rather than having their contributions naturally recognized by their managers.

There is also a frustrating perception around internal progression. Junior developers who have already demonstrated their capabilities and accumulated significant product knowledge may not necessarily be promoted, while more senior developers are brought in externally.

What makes this particularly frustrating is when those newly hired seniors then rely heavily on the same junior developers who were not given the opportunity to progress.

Recognition doesn't always feel meaningful.

There is a perception that exceptional effort and dedication can result in merchandise or symbolic recognition rather than meaningful financial rewards. Company-branded merchandise is nice, but it doesn't replace competitive compensation.

Beyond salary, the overall benefits package can also feel underwhelming relative to the expectations placed on employees.

The biggest issue:

For me, the biggest problem isn't remote work, flexibility, or unlimited leave. Those are genuinely good things.

The problem is what has been lost in exchange for them.

PaySpace once felt like a vibrant, social, and highly interactive workplace. There was a sense of community. People knew each other. People attended events. People cared about what was happening around them.

Today, my experience is that the environment feels considerably more isolated and transactional.

Deel may have brought greater flexibility and modern remote-working practices, but I believe it has also fundamentally changed the culture that made PaySpace special in the first place.

The company increasingly feels optimised for processes, automation, and efficiency rather than people.

And when employees start feeling like numbers rather than individuals, it becomes very difficult to build loyalty or retain the people who helped build the company.

In short, the flexibility is great, but culture, human connection, career growth, and meaningful employee recognition matter too.

• Start valuing employees as people, not simply resources. If employee retention is genuinely a priority, the company needs to create an environment where people feel appreciated, recognized, and motivated to stay. Otherwise, the ongoing pattern of vacancies and employee turnover is unlikely to improve.
• Reward hard work with meaningful compensation. Certificates, recognition, and company merchandise are nice gestures, but they don't adequately recognize sustained performance and dedication. Employees who consistently go above and beyond should see that effort reflected in their salary, bonuses, or other meaningful financial rewards.
• Invest in the people you already have. Before looking externally for talent, recognize and develop employees who have already demonstrated that they can perform at a higher level. Internal career progression should be a meaningful part of the company's retention strategy.

At the end of the day, people stay where they feel valued. Flexibility and remote work are great, but they cannot replace recognition, competitive compensation, career growth, and a genuine sense of belonging.