Arup Laboratories Reviews

* The messaging from management to employees can be summarized as: "Preach one thing. Set policy to encourage the opposite." * Working remotely is banned. Following the pandemic, ARUP moved to a "permanent" policy of allowing full-time remote work for various jobs. It was a massively popular decision. It made employees happier, more productive, less stressed, and spared them hundreds of hours annually sitting in traffic. But then a new CEO stepped in and brought the hammer down. Permanent remote work benefit? Just kidding! His email announcing the change actually claimed that making people return to the office would improve their work-life balance. This shows how out of touch he his. * ARUP standardizes on open office floor plans that are noisy and distracting. Employees are a part of every nearby conversation whether they want to be or not, job-related or not. Managers still get their own private offices where they can shut their doors and not be disturbed. * Commuting to and from ARUP is a daily nightmare with the gridlock on Foothill drive. * Compliance / legal department is like ARUP's own secret police. They view every employee as an active criminal that has just not been caught yet. * The corporate culture is one of watch-your-back and keep your mouth shut. It did not used to be like this. It used to be a place where open communication and employee empowerment was pervasive. But the powers above have put a stop to that. * Bureaucratic overhead is growing exponentially. Committees on top of committees make sure that simple decisions take weeks or months. It makes the U.S. Congress look agile and efficient in comparison. * The in-house health clinic used to be a perk, but it is a shadow of its former self. The providers seem to be extremely limited and restricted in what they are allowed to do, For most things it is now faster to just go to through your regular health system.