Pay raises for skill improvement, but limited opportunities afterwards - Internship National Research Foundation Employee Review

You get exposure to high-level events and responsibilities very quickly. I was given chances to lead multiple senior-level events, which forced me to learn fast and operate beyond my comfort zone.

The workload is extremely high. I was expected to lead multiple high-level events at the same time, which honestly felt beyond my pay grade. It becomes stressful very quickly. The turnover rate is bad — many of the capable pioneer staff have left, and now around 60% of the organisation feels like new blood still figuring things out. P.s., not sure if I am even staying after promotion. Senior management sometimes feels like a cowboy town, with ideas flip-flopping and direction changing often. Departments are territorial, so you really only thrive if you know how to play the politics game. There is a strong culture of “not reinventing the wheel” and not rocking the boat, which makes meaningful change difficult. Overall, the environment left me feeling constantly stressed.

Great colleagues. Hybrid work helps a lot, especially in managing a high workload and maintaining a semblance of work-life balance. Coffee is free.

Weak management who panders to political holders' will. There is no grit or iron in them to turn down such requests from the top, even if they are trivial, but they take up so much of the staff's bandwidth and time. Constantly lacking resources to outsource work, management always enacts budget cuts or reduces spending each year. This often stretches staff as the same or better outcomes/results are expected. Imagine if resources and funding keep getting reduced each year, but the same results are expected.