Pros
- Lots of welcoming, intelligent and friendly colleagues. As in any company, there are exceptions, but overall I never had better group of colleagues. In fact this is the main reason I still work here. - Despite it's already large size, literally anyone in the company is approachable. Showing initiative and being persistent about it actually works, you can have impact. - A lot of interesting work and great freedom in how you organize yourself. - Paradox allows and even encourages direct communication with players. While this is not for everyone, it can be a very enjoyable part of the work. - Lots of options for after-work activities, something is happening almost every day. - Top level leadership (mostly) "gets" the product(s), although with the fast growth and many changes on the management level recently this deteriorated a bit. For a company this size I'd still say it's exceptional. Makes for usually sensible decisions. - Thanks to a few dedicated and persistent people a union contract will be in place soon. - Regular personal development time that can be spent freely. - Business outlook, at least medium-term, is good. Although the company struggles somewhat with diversification away from it's traditional PC-only niche.
Cons
- Salaries are not as bad as they used to be, but still low compared to market rate, especially in non-gaming industries. Starting salary is important, even after years with more responsibility and good performance you will not get significant raises. If you decide to sign be very aggressive with the starting salary, because that, plus inflation over the years (and maybe a percent here and there), is essentially what you will get while working at Paradox. The yearly bonus, which previously was quite a nice amount has been altered to now be essentially meaningless. - Very little flexibility with work hours compared to many other workplaces. Essentially it is a 9-5 regime, with enforcement varying across departments. It can be very strict to somewhat relaxed (especially if you have kids). Annoyingly, many on the management level straight up ignore this and come and go as they please (see my last point about enforcement of rules) - Open-plan workspace for everyone, it's never quiet. A few seats are somewhat acceptable, many are terrible (close to kitchens or entry doors). - Only few very senior (with regards to expertise in their fields) employees, likely due to stinginess of the company. If you are senior and decide to sign, there's a good chance you won't have anyone to really learn from and you may have to argue against practices you thought had been dead for years. - Swedish is not required, but most of the old guard converse mostly in Swedish and many Swedish cliques do exist. Those groups still have major influence in the company that is not necessarily reflected in the actual hierarchy. - The company is pretty bad at consistently enforcing rules. If you are valuable, knowledgeable, have been at the company for a long time or are just brazen, you can break many rules (Be it on the technical side, or working hours, whatever really) without much fear of facing any significant repercussions, if any at all. If you are in a weaker position (for whatever reason) you have basically no leeway. Overall I'd say, depending on where within the company you end up, Paradox can be a pretty good place to work. However, since you have little control over that, I would not recommend Paradox generally.