Many - this office culture is very strange. Everything revolves around the opinions of one person. You are either in that camp or you aren't. If you aren't, you keep your head down and stay out of the way. If you have to work with this person, just agree with whatever they say. I received this advice from a senior employee, and it was very valuable (and effective). There are more egos and dog & pony shows than you would expect - all of the politics can be exhausting. There is a lot of resistance from junior designers to working on projects that aren't pretty or high profile. The designs in many cases are very trendy - sometimes they feel dated before the projects are finished. If you love trendy, this is the place for you. There is a lot of office gossip - more so than your average professional environment. The staffing is not done well - it leaves key people off project teams and throws junior designers in the deep end without adequate checks for their work. The junior designers have little to no foundation in basics, with no obvious comprehensive opportunity to learn those things. There is a lot of redundancy in work that could be eliminated. Gensler SF is very good at making things look pretty, and somehow they get built. Would not recommend unless you're a professional brown noser and gossiper and find that enjoyable.
