Totally Disappointed - Anonymous employee Calix Employee Review

1.0
Aug 19, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free drinks in the break room.

Cons

The culture of Calix historically has been that EVERYONE is treated the same, no matter WHAT position. This is one of the reasons why no one has an office, including our CEO. It's a sea of cubicles in our different sites. However when you hire a bunch of people (chiefs no Indians) who have no idea of the culture, they bring their own. Their own consists of "if you are not above me in position, then I will treat you with disrespect". "I will make you feel that your job is on thin ice everyday". "As your new manager, I will burden you with so much work but not really understand what you do in the first place but act like I do". "I will not listen to you because your input is of no value". "Oh and I will ensure to throw you under the bus if there are any issues that actually are my fault. I will ensure you go down for it and not me". Unfortunately this methodology is crippling. Good, very good employees that worked for this company for years are leaving at a rapid pace. You can promote them to keep them but they leave anyway. You didn't stay at Calix because of the money you were making. You stayed because of the people that you worked with. People who worked really hard, all hours of the night away from their families and away from life. The former chiefs rolled up their sleeves and got in and helped. This was respected and it showed employees that we are in this together. New chiefs barely on board for over a year take off on vacation more than once in a two month span while many have not seen a vacation in years. They are self entitled and do not feel they need to work as hard as the rest and it shows. Half of them "work from home" and I use that term very loosely. Can't find most of them. We thought that when the previous leader of HR left that things would change company wide and unfortunately because of that cancer it's even got worse. It's bleeding through departments now. When you loose an entire department within an 18 month time frame you would think to take a look at what, where or who is the source(s) and work to resolve it. Unfortunately a new chief is hired with little to no experience and then they sit back, collect a check and dump the work on the lower level employees as if they are too good to do it.. Then they question why your work is not getting done when you are to busy doing theirs. It's crazy and until someone really take stock in what's going on then you will have a revolving door with a bunch of upset employees. If you don't care about them, how well do you think they will care about you or the work that their doing for you? You can't feed them all the time to make these deep rooted issues go away. It's time to show that you care. Not by food, money, but by deed. Unfortunately it's come to the realization that this is no longer a career but just a job. Heartbreaking because I loved it there but the people that I really liked are ALL gone and now I know why.

Explore other reviews about Calix

5.0
Jul 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Culture that is second to none, work from anywhere flexibility. The cross-functional work across the different departments is amazing to witness and how it drives successful outcomes. It is very rewarding to be able to make a difference each in every day in helping service providers grow and optimize their businesses which help to connect people to quality broadband with additional services.

Cons

I honestly don't have any cons about working at Calix.

4.0
Jul 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Calix has an excellent company culture where employees genuinely support one another. The collaboration across departments is one of its biggest strengths, making it easy to work together toward common goals. The company also offers a great work-life balance and promotes a flexible, respectful work environment that allows employees to be productive while maintaining their personal lives.

Cons

Compensation could be more competitive, especially for non-Sales roles, as responsibilities grow. Advancement opportunities can also be limited for certain departments, making it challenging for employees looking for long-term career progression within the company.

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