Pros
The Good - The company seems to be embracing the ideas of quality of life and work/life balance which has resulted in a pretty generous work from home policy and a more relaxed environment in regards to dress code, etc. 401(k) plan is excellent with 100% match. Health benefits are cafeteria plan style so you can pick the amount of coverage that suits your needs. Buyer beware, this can add up quickly though if you want a respectable health package. Vacation time is excellent and includes floating holidays. There are still a number of good people here that truly care about the organization but the numbers are diminishing.
Cons
The Bad - As much as the generous work/life policies are a good thing, they are also bad. In the case of Cengage, there seems to be no accountability for what people are really doing when they are "working from home". Even in the office, the norm seems to be to come in late and leave early, especially for management. Disciplined employees with high work ethics may struggle here as they see what is going on around them when employees (at all levels) are blatantly taking advantage of what should be a good thing. Compensation is well below industry standards. Interestingly enough, the typical response to compensation inquiries is "if you include your bonus, your total compensation....." At the same time, you will here that "bonus is not a guarantee" so it gives the impression that the company wants to play both sides of the compensation conversation. Ironically enough, this year we did not receive any bonus which directly impacted morale. The Ugly - There is a lot of dirty politics here and advancement is based on who you know and whether or not you are part of the "in crowd". Because of this, the top ranks are filled with people who are poor or ineffective managers. There is a lot of restructuring going on as the company tries to move to the digital age and this has resulted in a number of people being let go. Whereas you would expect this to be an opportunity to get rid of the dead weight, it instead looks like an opportunity to let go of people that they simply do not like.....even if they are strong performers. HR is ineffective and one would wonder what they really do besides tell you to call the benefits number. Ironically enough, this is one group that appears to be growing in size despite large scale reductions in other areas. This was once a great company and what made the company great was that everyone from the top down thought of the company first and strived to make the company as successful as possible. These days, everyone is watching out for themselves. Turf wars prevail and people are more concerned about protecting their jobs and not losing them in a bad economy.....especially when there is no rhyme or reason for why certain people get cut but incompetent people are retained. I come to work, do my job, and go home. I stick it out because of my vacation time and in the hopes that when my time comes, I will receive a good severance package.