1. Five days in office, solely at the decision of the CEO and senior leadership. At least half of employees on the same team need to be in office on any given day, meaning that if a coworker on a team of two had PTO approved the week between Christmas and New Years, the other teammate would have to work in office for that week. In my exit interview, HR told me they agree that 5 days in office is a common complaint across the firm, but ultimately cannot make the decision. After some notable employee exits for more hybrid opportunities, in 2023 HR graciously upgraded employee WFH days from 10 to 12 days per year. This needs approval from your supervisor, similar to a PTO day.
2. Lack of internal growth - About half of Wafra employees are Vice President level, unable to be promoted to Director without board approval, which leads to traffic jams at levels below that. Very few openings were filled with internal movements, and job responsibilities for higher positions were typically unobtainable unless the firm was hiring for that position. My request for sponsorship of a certification specific to my line of work was denied.
3. Pay is low and raises are minimum standard. My salary increases did not outperform the rate of inflation over two years.
