Work life balance is abysmal and only got worse during the economic downturn. Others have mentioned the "every other Friday program" - well, that got canceled. We were promised it would be revived by senior management. That was 1 1/2 years ago. Dress code is business casual; companies that seem to care more about their employees tend to adopt a less strict dress code. I've been to an Oracle interview and the VP was wearing a t-shirt and jeans along with everyone else. Too bad I don't want to live in California! I absolutely agree with the lack of long term planning and the "everything needs to be done right now" emergency mentality. This is what drives most of the work life balance issues. Impossible goals are set and expected to be followed - at your expense. The rush creates sloppiness which then leads to more problems tomorrow when upgrades are expected. Also, you never transfer anything to support. You create it and its your baby until you quit. So, the more productive you are, the more work you wind up with. This is not a sustainable method; I've seen product support follow a person even to other unrelated job roles when they took other roles in the company. Vacation = work from laptop. Sick = work from home. Nights = work from home. There are no good perks to working here either. Some companies provide tea/soda/snacks/coffee etc. Here you can expect water and coffee. In addition, you might be at a "satellite" office in the middle of no where. Fridge space for your lunch is at a premium in these offices (and first come first serve); I've been at 3 of them. No company vehicle (unless senior management). Here you can expect the gray wall no windows cube farm mentality in most of the offices. Career paths are non-existent for the most part unless you consider a career path "applying for another job title, getting an offer, taking that job at another location, and moving there at your own expense" a career path.
