A slow moving car crash - Researcher Mathematica Employee Review

1.0
Jun 15, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People that are passionate about using their skills for public good.

Cons

- Truly awful leadership. They spent a ton of time last fall changing the org chart and not preparing for the catastrophe of the trump administration. Now they're scrambling to do whatever it takes to get scraps of contracts. - Employees are not treated with dignity when it comes to the RIFs. The severance packages they offer are pitiful. They are targeting individuals that speak out and are trying to push back against the company's heavy handed approach to top down decision making. - There is a complete lack of transparency regarding the layoff process. Despite being asked repeatedly to provide a set of clear criteria for layoffs, the leadership of the company continues to exercise shadowy decision-making that prioritizes petty grievances with respect to RIFs. - A majority of shareholders voted against electing the CEO to the board. Despite this clear loss of trust, the board doubled down on their loyalty to the CEO. - The company repeatedly protects individuals that have several HR complaints against them. Individuals with a pattern of bullying behavior and toxicity appear to face no repercussions. - They don't even do exit interviews! Because they don't care about actually getting real feedback from employees that leave. - The White Men (TM) at this company keep failing upwards at the expense of all other groups. They paid lip service to diversity and abandoned their principles the second it was politically expedient to do so.

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
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All