Pros
Flexible schedule (team dependent). Passionate and friendly colleagues (for the most part). Good PTO, but Rest & Recharge weeks are funny - I.e., “we suggest you take PTO but we won’t actually give you the time off, but we’ll shut down all central services so you can’t actually do your job, should you forego it.” Higher pay if you’re a new employee compared to current, so good for people joining as you have more negotiating power. For those of us already here - good luck getting a raise as HR thinks you’re easily replaceable & doesn’t account for the institutional knowledge lost when people leave and the cost to the institute (both HR & teams) when they rehire. So clearly even my pros have cons.
Cons
HR is abysmal - pay inequities, lack of transparency despite what they claim, poor and inconsistent guidance to managers, standout & performance pulse is a joke and good luck even getting an answer from them at times - you could be waiting months. Lower pay for current employee than those recently hired, because why would you reward those who have been loyal and stuck it out over these last few painful years when the institute has been hemorrhaging staff? Promotions often have to be initiated by employee asking for one as managers often don’t have time to even think or care, let alone initiate the process. Executive team doesn’t walk the talk. Lots of empty promises and platitudes. Becoming increasingly bureaucratic - everything is a committee, every level of management has a say, leading to decisions that take forever and even when made, they often haven’t consulted those it would actually impact. Numerous system and process inefficiencies that make everyone’s job harder and not more efficient, without any regard to the impact it has on those who have to carry the work out.