Pros
Good technology and good people below the management level. I learned a lot and made some good connections during my employment there. Partially paid for lunches if you eat vegetarian from an approved list. Fairly ok insurance that wasn't expensive while I was employed there.
Cons
The connections I made were out of shared misery. Everyone who has a chance to interact with the owner/self appointed CEO knows that verbal abuse, debasement and misogyny are commonplace at HSI. I witnessed on more than one occasion the verbal destruction of my co-workers for minor incidents and I myself was on the receiving end of a tirade or two. What I heard from other co-workers when I wasn't present was even worse, stuff I can't repeat. Every day of my over three years employment was an exercise in fear when the CEO showed up at 11AM or later every day. The days when he didn't show up were pretty decent though. Other managers also lived in fear of the owner but hid it very well and everyone I spoke too hated him with every fiber of their being and were constantly on the look out for other employment. Employee turn over from the least paid to management is extremely high, higher than I have witnessed at any company I have worked for. It's hard to believe that they can still operate with all the knowledge that has left the company over the years. Half hour lunches, clocking in/out(even for salaried employees) and strict attendance policies are there to prevent employees from going to off-site interviews without having a chance to be disciplined or outright fired. There are more cons, but mostly minor compared to the ruined company culture.
