Poor Leadership, Low Morale, and Crushing Workload
Pros
Numerous opportunities to gain valuable experience juggling several tasks which are all on fire at the same time. Working with diverse clients in an interesting field is great perk. Middle management and below is typically a pleasure to work with. Compensation was reasonable. Surviving any length of time here will build skills that cannot be developed anywhere else. Good experience if viewed as a steppingstone.
Cons
Senior leadership is inconsistent, volatile, myopic, immature (in both senses of systemic structure, culture, and behaviors, and individual leaders' depth of experience, interpersonal conduct, and organizational savvy), and their grasp of standard, best-practice work processes is tenuous at best. The central mode of governing both operation associates and office professionals is through "the whip", a practice which is tacitly endorsed through C-Suite leadership. Praise or recognition of wins is wholly absent, and discipline can be a public affair intended to embarrass the subject through borderline verbal abuse. Unprofessional and disrespectful conduct towards employees is displayed without restraint in presence of business partners, including high profile clients. Unsolicited feedback directly from customers has reinforced these observations. Work life balance is non-existent. Off hours, weekends, holidays, and vacations are not sacred and only valued as opportunities to catch up on work. You will receive calls and emails at any hour and be expected to work. Minimum 50-hour weeks in the office are required to complete core work. Promotions are not merit-driven and based almost entirely on ability to navigate the day-to-day political environment or by threatening to leave. This leads to underqualified and/or inept candidates filling critical roles, crippling department and functional partners with additional workload. Do not expect to be rewarded or recognized for effort and delivering above expectations of the role. Good people typically turnover quickly. The ability to shout from an office is valued over delivering tangible results.
