Culture is quickly degrading. The ability of upper management to continually fumble policy rollout is stunning.
RTO is a popular subject here and it is worth noting. CEO repeatedly praised record productivity during the pandemic but then quickly changed tune once RTO became an option. Ableist ideas and communication have resulted, with the most shocking assertion being that those unable/unwilling to come into office are proving themselves as not dedicated and consequentially ineligible for promotion to a management track. Of course when challenged management denied this, despite them openly communicating it in an all company meeting. Their position is not strengthened by head leadership's continual assertion that RTO will promote a "virtuous flow of talent" to the (physical) workplace.
Like noted in previous reviews, the majority of upper management at Appian has either worked there their entire career, or worked there so long that they seem to have lost sight of the larger business landscape. This means that there is little flexibility or openness when it comes to new ideas. As someone coming in with external experience (and apparently hired for that) it was extremely demoralizing to be shut down due to management's adversity to risk, no matter how small.
Additionally, management training is woefully inadequate. Over my tenure I raised several issues (including blatantly sexist behavior of coworkers) with my immediate manager and was basically told to suck it up. Unfortunately my experience is not an isolated one.
Also, beware the "unlimited PTO," it is not unlimited. While of course no job can offer truly unlimited PTO it is extremely frustrating for them to promote this as a perk and then to be challenged when exercising it. During one of my years at Appian life circumstances necessitated my taking more PTO than "recommended." My manager knew of my circumstances and still made it a point to repeatedly challenge me to "take less time off." This made an extremely difficult time in my life even worse and proved a sharp reminder of where Appian's values lie.
