Pros
If you get on the right team, it can be super fun. Work/life balance is amazing if you are on a supportive team. CEO & SVP HR do not really support working from home and both have confirmed in various conversations, so do with that what you will. CFO/COO do support it, so if you get on one of their teams, you are usually good to go; it is definitely team based. The culture is still pretty good! Employees are really nice, everyone is really supportive, I have made life long friends. Lots of people are leaving though (3 really senior people in the last 6 weeks!! I’ve never see this before.) It’s starting to show that Aaron and Dylan are still learning how to run a business, they lean really hard of people they consider to be smart and seasoned, rarely push back on decisions and it has definitely changed the voice/culture of Box in the last year. An honest career assessment is: If you get paid what you feel is fair, and you love the team you met with. Take the job - it can be a good career builder, and I don’t see the company getting acquired anytime soon. If you are a seasoned Boxer who is reminiscing about how it “used to be” - it is probably time to dust off the resume, because the times they are a changing and no-one is going to try and keep you (especially the head of HR! - make sure to keep personal effects on the desk to a minimum - the Kremlin/Salem hunters may come for you next!)
Cons
Pay - you will be underpaid compared to market value, Box knows this, they talk about it internally a LOT. Make sure you negotiate hard to get what you want before you start, because you likely will not come up to market rate during your time here. Since the new SVP came in, people across teams either just disappear (stuff left on desk! Kremlin/Witch hunt style) or give notice. The culture has shifted to one professional face, not authentic happiness anymore, it feels like everyone plays along out of fear they could be next. Leadership loves her, so I don’t see this changing any time soon. She is really changing things - forcing a changing of the guard so to speak. New people are coming in who don’t have any experience with how amazing it used to be, which isn’t necessary bad per say - just kind of sad. There are problem VPs/Executives across the company (one in finance has multiple complaints of bullying/harassment, another harassed someone out of a job, the new head of HR struggles with leadership) and some really really amazing ones -the COO is doing amazing things! Growth is pretty hard and you have to be dedicated to sticking it out. This year, when they reviewed promotions on stage at a company lunch, an exec who sat on the compensation committee acknowledged that some people didn't get promoted the previous year because they just simply didn't have enough "time" in lower management. It isn't about talent or progress, it is about sitting in a role for 3+ years. Physical space!! I am unsure as to why we are taking away collaboration space, and putting people on top of one another when most of our 5th floor is empty!? I have heard Aaron visually does not like it when people are spaced out, he wants it to "look busy" at all times (hence why he doesn't like working from home), but we are seriously sitting on top of one another and they just took away collaboration space and storage to make room for more desks - the 5th floor is 90% empty. It is crazy.
