Pros
There are a lot of pro's to working at Wonderist. I will say, most are related to the inherent and natural culture made by the team itself (not necessarily driven by management). Some easy ones to mention though (as provided by management): -Mostly unlimited PTO (basically use it within reason) -Decent/Fair holiday schedule (could be better, not all holidays are considered days off) -Doggo friendly office -Remote work available if you're sick/have life issues (great when you don't feel good-enough for working in person, but you can still do your work The natural culture provides, in my experience, experiences like: -Amazingly supportive "line staff", your coworkers will be your bastion and bulwark against drama -Directors are awesome and knowledgeable, if stretched a bit thin, and will in general tell you the truth behind any kind of drama that might be stirred up at the time (which was quite useful)
Cons
Unfortunately, most of the cons I will list below resulted in a shift that happened in and around the last 8-12 months. I'm not precisely sure what caused it, and while I have my suspicions I can honestly say they are just that, suspicions. The Con List -The CEO is rough around the edges. He comes across personable at first, but should you question his opinion on any matter do expect to be thoroughly talked down to. In one instance he insisted he was more knowledgeable on Google's latest trends than Mueller (one of the foremost sources of information on all things Google organic search) -Favoritism gets toxic, fast. There are a few people on this company that could quite literally get away with murder, and to this day I cannot truly tell you what their job actually is (besides offending employees, and stirring drama) -Inconsistent treatment of employees. Some are given leeway to do what they need to do, others are hovered over as if they are constantly messing up (they aren't). There are quite a few people who believe that if you are disliked by the CEO, that means you're knowledgeable and doing a good job -The new raise and promotion system was billed and promised as a transparent and fair process. In actuality it is an extreme case of beaurocratic chaos, is rarely transparent, and has served to expedite the exit of several good employees -Promised yearly "cost of living" raises were not honored in several instances -The CEO has a reputation for making employees break down and cry (big yikes) -Poor performance isn't addressed in a clear and transparent way, I can think of several examples where simple conversations were instead turned into long drawn out drama fests -CEO likes to exert more control than is needed, or desired, while espousing that he is a kind and understanding person -Did I mention lack of transparency in general? There's a lack of transparency in most things (for example: coming back into the office and if there will be a hybrid remote/in-office schedule) -Disengaged employees, which is NOT the fault of the teams. The "Wonder Buds" have been dragged through hell and back since COVID-19, and have adapted to a lot. Sadly the reward is inconsistent treatment and respect, let alone concrete items such as pay raises My personal largest con, however, was the CEO rippining into me about a review that was supposedly due in December, but was instead put off for almost 4 months for the "new and better system". In this phone call he stand offishly stated, "I'm honestly disappointed in you, is money really that important to you?". Yes, Michael. Money is important to all of us, that is why we work. If I didn't need to concern myself with money, I'd living in the highlands of Scotland and split firewood for a living. Asking such questions reflects your disconnection to your very own people.
