Pros
[1] An opportunity to work on different projects, but limited to either vaporware or dumpster fires [2] HR and c-suite focused on a culture of accountability of butts-in-seats from 8:30am-5:30pm [3] Inspiring and motivational quotes from leadership such as "the boss is the boss" and "COVID is the flu" [4] A fast-paced and dynamic HR environment in which policies are given with no advance notice, not even to management [5] The chance to use some of the best tools in the world-- that Microsoft has to offer (e.g., Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and One Drive) [6] A company which takes security seriously, including IT policies that restrict the entire workforce, even engineering, from installing anything this is not on an approved list of a dozen or so applications [7] The joy of continuing video calls when you return to office since all your colleagues are remote [8] 24" televisions given out to employees on their 1-yr anniversary
Cons
[1] Gross incompetence at all levels and functions in the org, but nearly 100% at the top [2] Meetings without agendas, descriptions, and sometimes even informative titles [3] Engineering teams that don't use source control, automated testing, or code review tools [4] Your project is either so low priority that no one knows or cares what you're building, or so high priority that you're expected to work non-stop to meet impossible deadlines. Vizio has work/life balance in the sense that for some of the workforce it's 0% work / 100% life and for others it's 100% work / 0% life [5] Poor leaders are hired and swiftly fired without a contingency plan, leaving those at the bottom to pick up the pieces without any real direction [6] Monthly re-orgs due to constant attrition in upper levels (now an open joke) [7] HR stonewalling tactics used to avoid difficult, but sometimes even basic, questions (don't believe the auto-responses you see from them on Glassdoor, they will ignore you) [8] Cult-like quarterly zoom meetings in which a desperate, out-of-touch leadership team tries to motivate the org with threats and gaslighting [9] Your first interaction with the c-suite may involve getting berated on an elevator when you attempt to step out of the office during regular business hours [10] Employee surveys that appear to include falsified results [11] Badge-swipe monitoring at the company, department, and individual level. Not surprising given that so much of the business is based on surveilling it's customers [12] Constant fear of layoffs since it's clear to those working in the trenches that their projects are aimless and not driven by research, data, or due diligence [13] A hostile HR team and a total disregard for the wellness and realities of the workforce [14] A hardware business that doesn't know what it means nor what it takes to be a modern tech company [15] Gatekeeping, both intentionally and due to incompetence [16] Project timelines that either (1) don't exist or (2) exist but are based solely on wishful thinking [17] Some of the most competent and smart people you will ever meet are beat down and demoralized by constant dysfunction, bad HR policies, and general ineptitude [18] DEI is not even in the conversation [19] Any verbal hiring agreements won't be honored, so best to get everything in writing and a good lawyer [20] The worst kind of penny pinching. For example, expecting parents who haven't been with the company for a least year do not get paternity leave, so you have to take every precaution that your family doesn’t get pregnant within the first 3 months of getting hired or you'll be left out to dry
