Having said all these good things about Workday, why do I have so negative opinion about Workday? Because it is really frustrating. Yes, it's a nice workplace with a lot of meant-to-be-right statements. But do they make workers happy and satisfied? Based on what I see around me the answer is predominantly No. There is a lot of dissatisfaction and frustration in the air.
Why?
People want to make a difference with what they do. For the most of us it is not an option. We are given confusing directions, no clear planning, no clear goals or metrics. We do a lot of work but a lot of that work is pointless and feedback is not welcome.
Then the tools. Just imagine how a good cook would feel being asked to prepare a dinner with a dull knife. Think about it. Imagine a ripe tomato in your hand and a dull knife and instead of slicing it nicely you get that ugly squashed red mess. Would it be frustrated? Or yeah! This is how we feel here every day. Or basic internal ticketing system is having issues. Our builds are failing. Our internal language is so weird - a lot of people see it as a career dead-end-move.
Then the policies. The "do what I say not what I do" mentality is everywhere. We have a very few documented processes and procedures and they are routinely violated.
Career path. Some people do get promoted. I just don't know how and what to do to be promoted. Can someone tell us?
The the compensation. It is below the market. In the early days it was all about we are going to build a successful company and it's going to pay off. Now we've built a company and guess what? We need to be profitable ... One reason after another, but our compensation stays low.
Finally, the overall "doublespeak" from the top managers. Back in the days we had open door policy. With a very few exceptions It was ok to go to meetings you're not invited to and learn what is going on. Skipping levels of management was ok. Talking to your bosses boss was normal. Now all those things are gone. We see things go wrong and the answer now is secrecy and obscurity.
It all adds up.
