Cautionary Tale of a Dysfunctional Work Culture at TVA
Pros
Select business units within TVA are fully remote. The hybrid/remote environment aids a better work life balance in theory. Whilst hard to find, there are advocates for minorities that encourage your progression whether inside the company or out.
Cons
TVA, a government agency, suffers from significant issues. The issues include but are not limited to a lack of diversity, discrimination, closed-mindedness, extreme bottlenecks, and pay disparities that permeate every business unit. The Supply Chain department exemplifies these problems, with rampant irresponsible spending and low retention rates. Employees are overwhelmed, managing excessive contracts and budgets single-handedly. Contract Managers with 80+ contracts worth millions a piece manage the workload alone. Atop the overwhelming responsibilities, the CMs are paid less than 1% of what they manage (below the market average). The procurement process is heavily unregulated and ill-managed due to a lack of workforce and training. If that wasn’t enough, then the old and ever so prevalent political game where tenure and title trump adherence doesn’t help either. Supply Chain doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle spending taxpayer money appropriately nor the funding to undertake making the necessary changes. The lack of representation and voice for people of color is yet another deterrent. Leadership often disregards these issues, advising employees to keep working while reciting hollow platitudes. The company culture discourages transparency. Keep your head down and mouth closed or transparency could be the truth you hang yourself with. If you can ignore the misappropriation of funds, prejudice, mistreatment of your peers, and a superficially friendly culture, then you have found the right company for you.
