Pros
* work-life balance. Most people work late/overtime, but few are working 50+ hrs a week which seems fairly common at many companies these days. * little to no micro-management. People are allowed to do their jobs without endless meetings and without the annoying policy reminder emails or inspirational KoolAid that so many companies are drowning in ("remember smoke break is only 15 min." etc) * not overly restrictive company budget (good hardware for the size of the company), ability to order tools and supplies needed to do your job * autonomy - each group seems empowered to structure their policies etc to fit their group dynamic * generally happy, unstressed, friendly workforce * company has financial backers with the resources to help weather the recession without unnecessary belt-tightening, and businessmen who have the vision to move the company forward.
Cons
* patchwork - this company is a patchwork of two major companies merged, with many legacy acquisitions not well integrated. And acquisitions continue. Little is uniform across the company (at this stage) - policies, hardware, company vibe. And lots of things are legacy. * for my location, most folks are at the beginning or ends of their careers, probably because of a lack of career advancement. * high turnover (for the tech group - other groups, many folks stay more than 10yrs) * groups are silo'd. Some functions are split up in ways that are not obvious or clean. Not enough communication between different locations. * pace of change is slow. This is nice for perfectionists who want to take the time to do a good job, but frustrating when there is lots of change needed to get to where the company should be. Note to Potential Employees: Take note of the dates on the reviews. Things have changed - seem to have improved once the companies were acquired/funded by Apax in 2011.
