* It's either micromanagement or absent management - there's no in between.
* Culture varies across teams, even within the same org or department. The team I was on felt like a ship drifting at sea - there seemed to be little concern for our morale. Other teams were building cohesive relationships with one another (and it showed up positively in their performance), while there was little interest in us outside of getting the work done. We were in one office, the rest of the team was in another — and when we found ourselves in the same city, it was surprisingly difficult to connect in person. Even during Turbo Week, there wasn't any dedicated time set aside for us to come together as a team… even something as simple as grabbing breakfast.
* Remote/WFH opportunities were wildly different across departments. Our team had a rigid schedule for seemingly no reason - we were told it was for team-building and in-person collaboration, but more often we were on conference calls in meeting rooms by ourselves, while other teams and ICs were working remotely. Because leadership was seated elsewhere, there was a disconnect from the day-to-day dynamic of our office — and there didn’t seem to be much interest in bridging that gap. Decisions were often based on outdated perceptions or assumptions, rather than current realities.
* RSUs as a "benefit" was weak sauce. IPO plans were clearly falling through and the RSUs were no longer the dangled carrot that leadership made them out to be. The veiled threat of "you're not loyal/dedicated enough to the brand if you leave before we go public" was tiresome at best.
* Merit increases were laughable. Leadership acted as though the compensation packages they offered were competitive with today's market but, to be blunt, they aren't and weren't. I walked into a similar role elsewhere at a 25% wage increase.
* Leadership clearly doesn't know how to row the boat through tough times. Right before I left, there was a divisive conversation in a company-wide meeting, where it was insinuated that staff should use their health insurance less. At one point, there was even a suggestion from upper leadership that some staff may have gone to the emergency room unnecessarily, contributing to higher insurance costs for the company. I've never in my entire corporate career been spoken to like a freeloader before and I think it speaks volumes to the leadership teams ability to perform under pressure.
* Example of tone-deaf leadership: Removing the question from the staff satisfaction survey about compensation. "We don't like hearing over and over again that we pay you too little. We think we pay you enough - in fact, MORE than enough and you should be GRATEFUL - so we're just going to just stop asking about it." Like. What?!
