Penn State reviews

I greatly enjoyed my first two decades as an employee. The last four years have been miserable. While there has always been some 'dead weight' which could be trimmed, it has gotten MUCH worse since COVID. A sizeable portion of the workforce barely completes the minimum requirements for their position. Those who work from home are likely not working--just checking emails twice a day and are instead out working in their garden, babysitting their grandkids, or working another part-time job. This is true from admins to upper middle management. And yet staff still complain there is no work/life balance. If some would work any less, they'd actually just have a hobby. Those of us who actually take our jobs seriously and give 100% get zero recognition for it...or are told by our coworkers or supervisor we are doing too much. HR is absolutely WORTHLESS...unless you lean Left or are a protected class and claim you are being discriminated against/harassed. They will jump all over that. If you lean Right or are not a protected class and take issues to them, they will sit on it for months, or will tell you to suck it up or move on with your life. There is currently ZERO equity (a word they love to throw around) in salaries. There are new hires coming into my department with 15 fewer years of experience making the same or more than I make after 20+ years here. I thrived in my first position and looked forward to every day I worked as part of an amazing team lead by someone who actually had a spine and was willing to stand up for what she believed in. That leader moved on, and within months I was forced out of that position (see my notes about HR above, and the University's 'zero tolerance' policy is a joke) and had two more good years as part of a new team. As noted, things have really gone downhill since 2020. I would no longer recommend the University as a career to anyone, and I am counting down the days until I can retire.

Poor raises, expenses keep climbing with no or small raises.