Pros
catered lunch and dinner. there’s a lot of smart people in the company.
Cons
it’s 6:30pm on a Friday. i pause my music take off my headphones and look around the office. it’s completely silent besides a few keyboards clicking. i’m burnt out from working 9-7pm for the last 4 days taking 30 minute lunches. i’m waiting on feedback on my current task so i can take next steps. all of my other current projects are awaiting approval. i’m not hearing back from gdl office. i’m unsure on how to proceed. i’m hesitant to leave early or even attempt to ask because of the strict 9-7pm work schedule. after going months without a real break we finally schedule our an office party. one week goes by and and it’s the day of the party. that afternoon i get more and more excited to finally relax and enjoy a delicious meal with my team. the clock strikes 7 and i make my way over to the kitchen with a few others to help set up. i see 2 large paper bags filled with the dinner. i peak my head into the bag and there it was… the iconic Golden Arches. yes you read that correctly. 30 min later i’m eating a mcdouble and mcchicken. I should’ve known any meal other than the mcdonald’s dollar menu would’ve hurt their almighty bottomline. but regardless I will never forget this $3 dinner as a reminder of their notorious frugal mentality. a few weeks later we receive emails from hr asking us to leave an honest company review. if you have something positive they highly encourage you to post. but if you have something negative they ask to contact them first.. that’s a little strange right? talk about bias reviews — they say “we’re a startup” as a copout for the relentless hours, low pay, minimal benefits, 5 PTO days a year, and no clear direction. any type of solution for the above, including socializing with others to help keep sane in the dull environment, is “too expensive” despite their “triple digit growth over the last 3 years”. i guess they need quadruple digit growth to provide somewhat decent perks, raises & promotions, or simply take the small team out for lunch once in a while. note: there’s a few employees who’ve been working tirelessly for over a year without complaints and haven’t seen a glimpse of a raise or promotion. also, i’ve never seen a startup with 200+ employees