politics and bureaucracy rule the workplace - Anonymous employee Lam Research Employee Review

2.0
Mar 27, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

people are generally pretty smart and the company is able to stay ahead of the competition with a few good products and good execution

Cons

this is a very political workplace where people spend too much time polishing their ppt presentations in hope of impressing upper management at the inevitable weekly / monthly / quarterly review meeting (people seem to spend half their time preparing slides or presenting them in review meetings). there is very little room for decision or creativity at the individual level; in fact creativity and risk taking are generally discouraged. the culture can be pretty aggressive too.

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Pros

Great opportunities, pay, and benefits

Cons

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1.0
Jun 25, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Opportunities to support global activities

Cons

Heavy micromanagement — frequent revisions on ppt to minor details like font size and colors. Frequently calling staffs even after work hours and lunch time. Manager often takes on additional work from other teams without considering current team workload, So the manager appears supportive and “nice” externally but creates additional burden to the subordinates. Manager controls team budget strictly for team-building activities (events and meals), team members feel restrictive and reluctant to participate, for example team members dare not order appetizers, dessert or drinks on top of entrees during team events. Manager used up most of the travel budget. Biz trip and personal travel boundaries are unclear, especially when manager frequently has business trips overlaps with personal travel. Seems like manager using biz trip to get free hotel and free air tickets for PTO.

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