Great colleagues, leadership stinks - Senior Researcher Mathematica Employee Review

Great colleagues, 401k match, and interesting work

Work life balance could be improved and more ability to move between departments

There are times when you are on a project and the Project Director is a good person, a good leader, and a good colleague who has somehow successfully managed to avoid adopting the toxic practices/behaviors reinforced by "Leadership." The flexibility to work remotely and flex hours is really world class.

Generally, I have not considered the environment to be toxic or the work culture to be toxic. Before this year, the recent re-org, and the RIFs, I would have said that there are toxic individuals or toxic clients, but not a toxic organizational culture. At halfway through 2026, it's impossible to maintain that perspective. Every single person I interact with, regardless of unit or job scope, across the entire global and US-facing matrix, are on the job market. The exceptions are those individuals in "Leadership," the ones creating the toxicity who have risen up because the best have left. In this environment when jobs are scarce, if you receive an offer to work here, negotiate to the absolute maximum value of the salary band then bide your time until the labor market loosens up.