This is where the emphasis of the review will be. There are many issues to be aware of and should definitely be considered before deciding to join the company. In short, this company fails to have long term vision. Many of the decisions made during my time there were very short-sighted and turned into what initially seemed like a fun non-toxic environment to the complete opposite.
-There is high turnover and it almost seems like this company operates with this intention. One of the early red flags were the amount of employees that have been with the company for less than a year. Over half of the company it seemed like have only been with the company for less than a year and the other employees have been for much more years. The younger employees seem more prone to being let go but the company just operates by continuing to hire new employees and the cycle continues.
-No work from home flexibility. Does not matter how far your commute is, you are expected to come into the office everyday and attend a daily meeting at 8:30am. Of course, this is known beforehand but if you had any hope that there is a leeway of flexibility, the answer is no. Interestingly enough, it does seem like certain employees are able to work remotely. How does that work? Not quite sure, but you are not allowed to work remotely.
- You will be monitored very closely whether you are aware of it or not. There are cameras within the office that are almost certainly being used to monitor your activity. Hence why work from home is not allowed. This company needs to make sure you are spending your time working. In phone use is not allowed so you will end up staring at your computer wondering why you accepted the job.
-There is a daily meeting every morning at 8:30am where you go over what you will work on for the day. It's not uncommon, but when you mix it with the micromanaging style of leadership, it becomes tiresome. Every Friday you also have to mention an accomplishment but really it feels like what have you done this week for the company.
- The benefits are not great. You would think that with such a negative work environment that at least pay and benefits are worth it. Unfortunately that is also not the case. 401k matching is not competitive and health insurance is ok. Only 15 total days off PTO in the year and since you have no work from home flexibility, you better hope you don't get sick otherwise you will quickly find yourself with no vacation time. 20 total days is the industry standard.
- Pay was standard in my experience, but definitely not the usual case. If you are a young employee starting your first job, you will be low balled and not offered competitive pay for Irvine. Bonuses used to be a thing but have seemed to have gone away by the time I left.
- Lastly, you will be talked down too. There is a lack of respect between leadership and the employees. Leadership always knows best and will not fail to tell you so. If it not done the way they want it, it is the wrong way.
Overall I would highly recommend to stay away. Despite how great some of your coworkers will be (and they are), unless you are desperate for a foot in the door, stay away. The current rating is very deceiving because we were recommended to leave positive reviews to attract new talent. Some of the previous positive reviews were actually employees that were fired but are unable to change their reviews. Time has past since I left but even after extended reflection, this was definitely the worst place I have ever worked at.
