Pros
The best coworkers (which is partially due to trauma bonding). Unfortunately, most of them are leaving or left the company.
Cons
-Stagnant advancement opportunities for good employees. Even if there’s a position within the company that better matches your skill set/background/degree, you had worked and gotten multiple designations, you volunteered for projects, you helped train new associates, you had put in two or more years in your current position (while managing a high file load and excelling in your work) AND you were requested by the management team of the open position, you will not receive that opportunity. After a slap in the face like that you certainly make sure to no longer give the company any of your unpaid overtime and you start looking elsewhere for work. -CEO is out of touch. Company culture doesn’t pay bills. Also, when you spend $95 million on a new building, you sure aren’t going to let your employees work from home! -WFH program does not make sense. They keep trying to force people back into the office and then partial work from home after that? Even upper management has to realize how ridiculous that looks. Once the WFH program is in place I have to report what days I want to work from home the week prior. Basically, you are treated like a child and micromanaged. -The dress code is still ridiculously outdated even though it’s been relaxed in the last few years. -On day one I was told AO runs “mean and lean” and I should’ve known to start looking for a new job then. They overwork employees while underpaying them, the employees leave for the same job that pays more and has less work at other companies and this creates more burden on the existing employees. Then, because they are understaffed even further, nobody gets the elusive “opportunities” -Bonuses, pensions and stability in the form of never laying off employees is used as a scare tactic to keep people at AO. Other companies have similar benefits (401K with good matching and retirement savings accounts) and still pay more. Chronic understaffing is the reason for not needing to lay people off. Bonuses are in place to make it look like employees are paid fairly while just protecting the company’s profit. I’d also prefer that 15% bonus pay (not guaranteed) to be a raise in my salary but I would still be underpaid compared to the industry average. -There is next to no diversity. Higher ups are mostly out-of-touch old white men who make you do diversity and inclusion trainings. Not sure whether to laugh or cringe about the trainings. -Men are consistently paid more than women. The younger generation discusses these things more openly, AO should probably fix this issue before there are lawsuits.
