Pros
Competitive salary with stock grants provided as an additional benefit. Avast Software offered excellent benefits, a supportive atmosphere, and a strong focus on quality prior to the merger with Norton under the Gen Digital organization.
Cons
Since the 2022 merger, the company has become heavily focused on "blind" consolidation, pushing all brands (Avast, AVG, etc.) to align completely with Norton's processes and technology despite the different business model. In many cases, these changes appear to happen without proper risk assessment, detailed analysis, or consideration of existing expertise, skills, and institutional knowledge. Internal politics seem to create significant challenges for employees. Talented engineers and analysts are often laid off during restructuring efforts, while individuals who challenge the status quo may be viewed negatively instead of being encouraged to innovate. At the same time, those who support existing structures tend to be rewarded. There is also a strong emphasis on consolidating data and operational systems, often justified as following "industry standards," although employees are rarely provided with clear evidence or documentation supporting those claims. The company's approach to AI adoption has become similarly problematic. While embracing new tools is understandable, the obsession with AI integration has reached counterproductive levels. Employees are expected to champion and support AI initiatives to such a degree that it begins to interfere with core responsibilities and actual output. Those who actively test, implement, and train on AI tools find themselves spending more time feeding the company's appetite for adoption than delivering meaningful work. Frequent layoffs and reorganizations create additional instability. Many workforce reductions reportedly happen with limited communication, and the widespread use of garden leave means employees can disappear from projects almost overnight. As a result, projects are often left without proper handovers, continuity, or coordination during restructuring efforts. Finally, the company runs regular employee engagement surveys through platforms such as Peakon, which are presented as a genuine commitment to listening and improving. In practice, however, the pattern is consistently the same: promises of change follow each survey cycle, but meaningful follow-through rarely materializes. Rather than building trust, the repetition of this cycle without visible outcomes ends up having the opposite effect on morale.