Upper management leaves a lot to be desired. It's difficult to manage a company that began as family run and then try to shift to a corporate feel. Procedures seem to apply to only certain people and not to everyone. There are noticeable favorites.
There is a tone of excitement among some managers and higher ups when projects go badly. You will be met with smug smiles and frequently reminded that you are incompetent. There is no point in defending yourself because nobody is listening and quite frankly, they do not care. It will be the equivalent of a parental scolding and being grounded for bringing home a bad report card. You will feel awful about it and it will come up again and again in the future. Your job duties may be changed or some even taken away.
If a project does go well, expect no recognition or approval of any kind. It will simply never be discussed again. People from other departments will also be sure to tell you what they feel are your shortcomings and how to do your job. There are several employees who threaten to tattle to the higher ups if you answer a question in a way they don't like. This will result in a call to your manager and then a discussion with you about it. Even when you are correct.
The pay is not worth the amount of hours if you are on salary. Raises and bonuses are an enigma. Helpful things like training for your particular role are often discussed yet rarely happen. There also seems to be a direct correlation between attractiveness and advancement opportunities.
The stress is very high. Everything has to be done yesterday and a response of "I'm working on it right now," is not satisfactory. Things change quickly but the schedule is largely based on the CEO's (often unattainable) expectations and have nothing to do with real time. Things get rushed to meet a deadline but the work can be shoddy. You then get back into the loop of being called incompetent. You will be consistently mentally exhausted. If you have a family prepare to put them on hold for anything related to the company regardless of the hour. Your efforts will never be enough despite logging hours long into evenings, weekends, and occasionally even holidays.
Some managers will scrutinize every move you make and others will be so hands off that you have little to no direction and can easily be blindsided by things you weren't even aware of. That said, there are a few good managers, depending on your department.
It's true that the consultant's love the company and from that standpoint I bet it is great to work here. For the ones who are in the background and keep the company going day to day - Not so much.
