Let me address the "people first" platitude.
1. Reviews can point to snacks, lunches, gym membership, unlimited PTO, and health benefits to prove that the company puts people first. These benefits are nice to have, but are fairly low commitment: how hard is it to hire vendors to provide this? What matters at the end of the day is substance in the form of compensation and career development. Aspects of compensation are rarely addressed. Process for raises and promotions is opaque, bonuses are not talked about, and career development is virtually non-existent as most managers don't have a vested interest in anything that doesn't coincide with business-as-usual activities.
2. Unlimited PTO has become somewhat of a misnomer. It should be labeled as "unlimited PTO as long as your manager approves and it does not disrupt business needs". The company says they trust that employees will utilize PTO responsibly, yet continue to reiterate that managers can set restrictions on when vacation can be taken. Don't fool yourself into thinking that unlimited PTO here does not come with strings attached. You can say you trust your employees but your actions have said otherwise.
3. Perhaps the most explicit test to determine how well a company places "people first" is how they treat on-site workers during the pandemic. There's no oversight. The decisions being made in regards to COVID are from those who will have stepped on site once every 6 months. The information relayed to employees on site is minimal/outdated and risk of infection grows. The company doubling-down on PTO policy while we have had positive cases every week is telling in some way.
4. Recruitment practices are backwards. Many have not had a positive experience in the recruitment process. Interesting to see how good Arsenal is at convincing those who have expertise and a proven track record to take roles that they are clearly over-qualified for, probably with a broken promise of advancement in the future after they've proven themselves worthy.
