Pros
Many colleagues are genuinely kind, passionate, and mission-driven. Some of the best people I’ve worked with professionally.
On-site fitness classes and one day per week to work from home.
The “Sweaty Pursuits” wellness benefit covers some fitness classes (though strict on what qualifies)
Office is visually appealing and modern, with occasional community-building events.
Cons
Based on my personal experience. May not be representative of other departments and teams in the organization:
Direction and feedback from leadership is often inconsistent or contradictory. One week you're told you're a strong contributor, the next you're questioned by multiple managers from your team about your value, even when you're not directly reporting to them.
Some managers don't model the expectations or rules that they set for their teams, which makes it difficult to stay motivated or feel fairly supported.
A 4-day in office mandate was rolled out recently post-hiring, despite more flexible messaging during the recruitment process.
Recent mass layoffs (~150, see your local news for more info), with unclear and fuzzy reasoning shared internally. Many high performers were let go, and (unconfirmed) rumors of more cuts are circulating amongst many, which naturally happens at any company after a wave of layoffs and has understandably spiked anxiety across teams. According to internal chatter, some were let go not for performance or financial reasons, but because their roles were deemed unclear which raises concerns about planning and accountability at the leadership level.
Despite branding around "caring for the whole person," lived experience often feels the opposite. Some team members have taken leaves due to stress, and in several cases, those absences were openly mocked or gossiped about by peers and even leaders (ironically perpetuating the very culture that leads people to the point of taking a leave of absence in the first place.)
The culture can feel psychologically unsafe, with a tendency to protect dominant voices regardless of their actual impact. Being a strong and effective leaders who is collaborative, thoughtful, and empathetic is sometimes overshadowed by those who speak the loudest or most critically of others' work.
Teams are expected to operate at high intensity without standard program/project/tech management structures in place or leadership accountability. Attempts to bring in best practices that are industry standard are often met with resistance from leadership, even if the existing processes clearly aren't working and a solution was asked for.
There is little room for iteration or learning through working drafts. If your first version of a solution isn't perfect, it may be dismissed or outright shifted to someone else rather than developed through collaboration, which leads many to falsely question their own capabilities and discourages growth and development.
Certain team members exhibit toxic behaviors (undermining, exclusion, purposeful attempts to make others sound and look ineffective in their roles, etc.) and are still rewarded or shielded due to their *perceived* high performance.
There’s a growing disconnect between leadership and day-to-day employees. Senior leaders are often removed from the execution, yet the pressure to solve complex, organization-wide problems often falls to junior or mid-level staff, regardless of this level not having adequate resources or authority to enact the change that is needed.
Culture of "managing up" has gone too far. In many cases, leadership relies heavily on those below them to drive clarity, communication, and even their own deliverables.
