Mathematica Policy Research Reviews in Princeton, NJ

Former Employee – worked at Mathematica Policy Research part-time for less than a year

Pros – Interesting Projects
Very Professional Atmosphere
Friendly colleagues

Cons – Not the state of the art in technology
Unstable Work, Hours are based upon project length/completion

Advice to Senior Management – career growth must be encouraged

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Mathematica Policy Research full-time for more than a year

Pros – Flexible work schedule
Every employee has office

Cons – - missing diversity
- technically challenged
- Bureaucracy and Too much politics within organization makes one think - when employees get time to do their work?
- no career growth
- average benefits

Advice to Senior Management – Look within / promot within instead of looking outside all the time

Current Employee – been working at Mathematica Policy Research

Pros – The company has an excellent reputation which is nice

Cons – Their attitude towards everyone is "you're replaceable", they will spend $1,000 to save $10, they make it impossible to move on within the company

Advice to Senior Management – Organize yourselves, stop with the nepotism, promote within and don't overlook someone because they don't have a phd or their masters yet.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Mathematica Policy Research

Pros – Mathematica produces high quality work and has very smart and talented people that are skilled in their policy areas. The compensation package is competitive and the need for work life balance is appreciated and recognized. I worked as a mid-level researcher at the corporate headquarters so I don’t have firsthand experience in the other divisions or offices.

Cons – 1) Colleagues are generally nice and supportive but many are quick to judge or make assumptions about different ways of looking, speaking, or thinking. There is no diversity training, discussion of cultural competence, or internal programs to support staff from diverse backgrounds. This is coming from someone who identifies as White but came to Mathematica from an organization that did much more in the area of diversity.

2) The corporate culture is uniform so perspective is limited and thinking outside the box is encouraged but not always welcomed.

3) Mathematica lacks diversity in the health and human services research divisions; there are very few staff from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups . There is some diversity along the lines of staff from traditionally non-underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and gender.

4) Mathematica has a very top down style in everything it does. Decisions are made at a very high level with little input from lower level employees and when input is collected it’s not clear if or how it influences decision making.

5) Management does not communicate the issues that are being considered by management in a consistent way. Management does a bad job of communicating final decisions.

6) Policies and procedures are often unclear: you can ask two people (even high level managers) the same question and get two very different responses.

7) Mathematica does not do a good job of integrating new staff into projects or the work environment.

Advice to Senior Management – 1) Increase your focus on diversity. Recruit diverse staff and create an internal culture that is inclusive by discussing cultural competency and providing diversity training. Diversity is a business necessity and it will strengthen your work.

2) Create formal policies and procedures, whether about flex time and remote work to how to perform basic job functions, and make sure that all staff have access to them.

3) Ask for staff input on all decisions that will affect their work environment or job responsibilities. Make sure staff know how their input will be used and follow-up to let staff know about final decisions.