"Employee Owned" doesn't mean a lot at Mathematica Policy Research - Anonymous employee Mathematica Employee Review

2.0
Oct 29, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The salaries aren't bad, and there are still a lot of knowledge and talented staff there that try to maintain the old, collegiate environment that once made Mathematica a fun place to work. Unfortunately these people are underrepresented in senior leadership and management roles.

Cons

There are a lot of trade-offs you make for that 5% you get in stocks each year based upon your salary ... First, the other benefits Mathematica offers are inferior (at best) compared to most other companies. This includes the super expensive health plans, vision, and dental options the company offers that don't provide much in coverage. This is especially true for the dental and vision plans. Mathematica also *does not* provide full pay for maternity leave for *any* length of time. The most they offer is 60% of your pay for a month or two if you're a woman. If you're a guy, you don't get any pay at all for paternity leave, and can only rely on whatever vacation time you have for pay while you're on FMLA. The politics are the biggest con by far. Promotions and raises do not seem to be based upon merit or ability so much as company politics and who in leadership is pulling for you. I've seen project leaders drive a project right into corrective action only to be rewarded with a promotion months later because their supervisor and/or VP wanted it to happen. Despite being "Employee Owned" you don't really have much say on the projects or type of work you get assigned, particularly if you don't have a supervisor with the ear of someone in a senior leadership role, or a supervisor that cares. After the recent reorganizations, people no longer have supervisors located in the same office (or even state), which doesn't help matters.

Explore other reviews about Mathematica

5.0
Apr 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great colleagues, 401k match, and interesting work

Cons

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

3.0
Jun 29, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Smart people, impactful work. A real community.

Cons

Poor strategic planning. Rather than performing real analysis and proactive thinking, leadership reacts to the environment. Strategy development and implementation at Mathematica seems like leadership throws wet spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. In the 2010s, it was predictive modeling. Rather than proactively using predictive modeling to support their client's goals and the organization's mission, they created a data analytics division, hired smart people, and provided no guidance to support the division. Today, AI has replaced predictive modeling. These examples provide two instances of failures of corporate leadership; many more exist. Unfortunately, the company suffers from short-term incentives and an aversion to long-term investments. As an employee-owned company, you would think that the board and leadership would be more responsive to the employees. No! Over time, they have removed employees' voices from decision-making and focused on increasing their own power and independence.

7
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