Pros
You’ll see pronouns of choice proclaimed proudly in email signatures and encouragement to donate to organizations supporting BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folx, but not enough work done to uplift, coach, and support employees in any of these groups. You get a designated Slack group to find your tribe. There is no perfect formula, but they are trying. Steve and Niraj are visible in large company initiatives, and they come off as approachable and employee-focused. There are opportunities to visit other locations and meet people you’ve only ever seen on video calls and it helps you form a closer bond during your day to day.
Cons
Although it’s been around for 15+years, you would think you’re working for a start-up. Turnover is high because there is virtually zero work-life balance or support. It’s a rarity to meet anyone who has been with the company for longer than 3 years or older than 35. So much so, that it becomes a running joke. No one is following the same procedures throughout the org. Everyone has a word doc for whatever arises during the normal course of work, and it’s hastily shared when you’re putting out yet another fire. Company procedures are shared on spreadsheets that everyone has access to, and therefore a different version of over time. Policies are erratic and ambiguously applied. The team is unwilling or unable to offer any concrete information about policies or procedures, so you are largely left to fend for yourself and subject to the consequences of that if things go awry. There are some great people that work here, and you will be bonded to them by shared trauma. But they’re leaving the company in droves or transferring to different parts of the org, and who is left will have you wondering who you can actually trust. The dozens of arbitrary group projects to develop basic processes (again, for a company this age???) is where specific type-A personalities truly shine. The company’s insistence on elevating weak personalities on the team sets a poor precedent for what you actually need to do to get a promotion- and to a greater extent, send the message that this is what is truly valued. Lack empathy and people skills, but know how to delegate? Perfect! You will be gaslit into thinking that you shouldn’t have that much work because of the archaic ticketing system in place, when really, countless nights will be spend at your computer looking up nonexistent answers to questions you’ve received throughout the day on the company’s info portal or on one of dozens of Slack threads. You will be given added responsibility, such as taking on more sites, and you will not be compensated for it. Read that again because it is a camouflaged requirement of the role. Beware of “as needed”. And there are days where you will be trapped in meetings for nearly the entirety of your shift. You will see band-aids and promises, but very little execution or accountability to improve things. The quarterly and annual surveys are for show. They’ll change up on the easy stuff, like adding a new benefit, but will keep managers that consistently rank low. If any Leader truly cared about why their entire team is wiped out, you would think they would investigate. It comes off as if they prefer to see these issues in the verbiage of a lawsuit to legitimize it. If you haven’t been deterred yet, maybe you are one of the “better people” they are looking for in their quest to become the next Amazon.
