Pros
The work life balance is good here for most departments. Once you get over the hump of the learning curve, leaving at 5pm will be standard. Summer hours are fun, vacation days are reasonable, and holiday time is average. FR has two company parties and people definitely take advantage of those and they are usually pretty fun. Location of the office is conducive for people commuting from the suburbs.
Cons
The cons definitely outweigh the pros. The company as a whole is resistant to change and is very much set in their ways. They always ask for new ideas and suggestions, but always shoot them down because “that’s not how we have always done it”. Inefficiencies are abundant as are redundancies. The procedures set in place are ancient and very paper/manual heavy. They need to move forward from the 80s into the 2000’s. There is not a single female in upper management and the company is a pure boys club. Woman need not apply because their skills will not be acknowledged, and even if they are, woman will never get invited to the boys golf outings and cigar room chats and career progression will be zero. Sexist comments are heard in conversation frequently. Basically you need to be a bro to move up in this company. Additionally, upper level positions are held by people who have been with the firm 15+ years and as such, there is zero movement for anyone above a senior/manager position. I’ve seen entire departments (below manager level) turn over completely in less than a year and a half. The lack of movement in upper positions, has led the firm to be very stagnant and to have a culture that is accepting the status quo. Outside of the box thinkers and people who aspire to do more should refrain from applying. Morale is low in the office as a whole, and I think management is totally unaware of this. The office itself is very drab. During their downsizing, FR leased their nice floors and kept the ugly one for themselves. Views are good, but the office looks like it’s from the 80s.