Stock option grants are broken - Software Engineer Wise Employee Review

3.0
Nov 15, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- A mission that matters - Opportunity to make an impact - Flexible hours - Can work from home - Good work-life balance - Fun colleagues - 5 weeks of paid time off (including the "me" days) - 16 weeks of maternity and paternity leave - Annual company party in June in Estonia (Summer Days)

Cons

- You might not get the stock options you've been promised. The stock option process is that your manager has 10 days at the beginning of the quarter to start the stock option grant process and get it approved by specific people. If anyone doesn't approve it for any reason (sick, off, forgot), you don't get your stock grant and need to wait for the next quarter. The number of the stock options in your grant depends on the stock price of the previous quarter. The stock price has doubled in the past 3 months, so employees who didn't get their stock options grant approved in time last month will get half the number of the stock options they were promised, in addition to not receiving stock options this quarter. Because of this, a fair number of people lost dozens of thousands of dollars. When this happens, no one will let you know that you're not getting your stock options. If you ask, the company will let you know that this is the company policy and that they have planned to change the way stock option grants work. It's been one year that the stock option grants are supposed to change in 2 quarters. It's still supposed to change in 2 quarters. - Each team gets the same budget for the pay increases (percentage-wise) and the team impact and performance doesn't matter. - A lot of smart people left. There are more and more employees who don't care about making an impact. - There are more and more dumb company policies and it's getting harder to challenge them but most people don't care. It's a bit like what you would see in a bank.

Explore other reviews about Wise

5.0
Mar 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

flexible review pay lots of feedback

Cons

repetitive long hours can be frustrating no sponsorship for visa

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Wise Response
2mo
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We’re pleased to hear that you appreciate the flexibility, benefits and culture. We hope you continue enjoying your experience at Wise.
1.0
Jul 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good PTO, and friendly Wisers.

Cons

Management is totally micromanagement, and the People team does not advocate for employees; they appear present only in name. If I were in Kristo’s position, I would conduct a thorough top-to-bottom review of the entire HR department of U.S., and replace all of them. If over 70% of the Austin team would never recommend this workplace, it is a significant warning sign that needs to be addressed.

4
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