Caltech (California) reviews

The expectations of employees in research positions could be closer to that of grad students or post docs depending on the lab. Playing the game according to HR's rules is very different from playing the game using your immediate boss' rules. I have heard, though indirectly, that HR/higher-ups would rather let you go than discipline a professor. However this may be a problem in all of academia.

Some departments are in need of facility & infrastructure maintenance and renovation. I experienced near constant environmental issues, i.e., noise, heat, and noxious smells, usually from points of origin outside my lab or office. My working space was heavily infested by vertebrate & invertebrate pests for some months in 2011-12. It took some time for facilities management to finally mount an effective response. If your supervisor is not effective at conflict resolution, there's not really any available venue of recourse. The Ombud's office was eliminated some years back. The culture in some research support entities can be very oppressive for staff. To get the best results from staff, concentrate on inspirado, and incentive, not disparagement & retribution.