Pros
Good atmosphere. Everyone's a pro.
Cons
You have to fight for a raise. Company will never pay more than you ask.
1. Every year company does a review for everyone and if you were not underperforming, they will suggest a small salary increase. Now, you can and you should object the initial lowball offer and ask for more. It will take the management about 2 weeks to handle your request, but they usually agree to add a couple of hundread more to your monthly salary.
2. When you are being promoted from a junior to mid or similar, it is crucial that you ask for a way bigger salary increase than before. I went from 1.8k as a junior to 2,7k when I was promoted to mid. During my promotion meeting, the management and my PM were very proud to offer me a generous 16% salary increase. Which I refused immediatly and demanded maximum pay for my salary range. Again -it took two weeks for management to handle it but they responded with a little smaller salary than maximum for that range. Hence I increased my salary 50% instead of generous 16% they offered me initially.
All of this is stressfull because you have to prove not only to management but also to your self that you are worthy of the raise. And it sucks that company is always trying to lowball you. But business is business. Remember that not only you as an employee are replaceable, but employer is replaceable as well. By refusing to accept your counteroffer they place you in a position where you will have to start looking for another job (which is an inconvenience - not a disaster)