SpaceX's upper management, but below our beloved CEO, is full of nepotism. The good ole boy system is extremely potent in the HQ (Hawthorne) portion of the company. This leaves the other sites to battle hard with things that are production blockers. The result that impacts the employee force the hardest is when reviews come out; those that devote huge amounts of their life to the betterment of processes, quality, and ensuring NASA/FAA regulations are adhered to suffer horribly with terrible reviews and zero advancement. This then leads to a flush and fill cycle; let that devoted employee go and get a new one.
Additionally, employees are expected to devote their lives to the job 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week; if you request a day or night off for a significant event, you are told you will make up for it regardless if you have accrued over 40 hours that week. SpaceX has very little understanding of the concept of leadership and what leadership really is. They care very little for the employees or their families, only the results.
