Brilliant minds but a stifling environment with poor life/work balance
Pros
The institute is well respected worldwide and is doing amazing work. Staff are smart, and at the end of the day you can feel that you've worked toward making a difference.
Cons
Working an environment of smart people can be boring. People around here tend to spend most of their day in their office (or in their own head). It's not uncommon to say hello in the hallways and get a blank stare. Everything decision is made by consensus (READ: nothing ever gets done). Leadership is very much lacking as promotions generally are driven by great research beng rewarded, as opposed to great management. This leads to an environment where no one is clear on their roles and responsibilities and unless you're a great self-starter, you will be confused about what you're meant to do. Turnover is exceptionally high at WRI. This is driven by the fact that flexible funding is so scarce. The organization is worthy of 10x the amount of money it brings in per year. The funding model is broken. Staff therefore spends six months of the year working on their project, and the other six trying to justify staying employed at the end of the year.