Management and decision making is extremely centralized. Most of how the business is run comes from a core group of 3 to 5 higher-ups. This means you won't have much say in what you do. You're pretty much just given a task or process to follow and you follow it. Suggestions for improvements is encouraged, but I believe this is mostly just to save face, as even middle management knows that change or new ideas doesn't come from the bottom up. The business is driven from the top. High alignment, low autonomy. No exceptions.
Because there are no real decisions to be made the office is super relaxed. I would say a majority of the folks get away with coasting and not doing much, if any, critical thinking. As long as you show up and have a smile on your face you're good. There's not much incentive for being a high performer. If you're interested in growing your skills, craft, or profession, you should look elsewhere. If you want to hang out most of the day and talk about trending tweets, this place is for you.
The office is very pop culture driven. That means if you're not into popular culture then you're not going to fit in. You will be ostracized as the office is very young and cliquey. There are popular people and there are unpopular people. You know how that goes.
Parking - If you do not negotiate parking into your contract (or you don't have "manager" in your title) you will not be given parking. Period. No parking reimbursements. No parking passes. No reimbursement for parking tickets. Where do you park? You will use the 2-hour parking spots outside the office. You WILL be moving your car every 2 hours because the parking authority comes by most days and issues tickets (or tire boots) if your car isn't moved after the free parking time is up. If you're a manager you'll be given a parking pass for a garage 2 blocks away. 85% of the office does not get a parking pass. Be prepared for that.
Atmosphere - The office space is bullpen style (open, no cubicles). The office is loud and there is no privacy.
Office Perks - No snacks, no sodas, no gym membership, no hot water, slow internet, no parking.
Work/life Balance - Could be better. Expect to work weekends. And because this is a digital retail business expect to work through holidays (Black Friday, Memorial Day, Christmas)
Despite the usually fun atmosphere, just under the surface moral is down. Way down. The company is going through a lot of changes. As a result several benefits and perks have been reduced or cancelled completely. While I believe the CEO is fully capable and extremely talented, I think the company's consistent poor earnings (this is public knowledge) has driven the final nail in the coffin for him, and he's given up.
