Pros
You know the saying “Misery loves company”? Pretty sure it originated here. Even though you can cut the tension in the office with a knife (especially if the CEO is in), it’s still possible to find some kindred spirits who are equally as miserable as you! At first, it might be hard to find them among all the sycophants in there so just keep an eye out for a grimace or eye roll after the CEO or someone in leadership says something ignorant/tone-deaf/offensive (you won’t have to wait long for that to happen). Also, if you can survive even a few months here, nothing else you experience throughout your career will ever phase you because you’ve already witnessed some of the most baffling examples of buffoonery to take place in modern day corporate America. You’ll be impervious to idiocy and suffer no fools. Oh and you’ll probably be able to easily one-up anyone’s Toxic Work Environment story because you’ll have mountains of material to work with.
Cons
One of the biggest cons is that after you leave here, it will be impossible to describe the full extent of the chaos to people who didn’t also witness it firsthand. As mentioned in the Pros section, you’ll have a lot of material to reference when you’re trying to provide examples of general dysfunction and turmoil like: - Your colleagues getting canned without any warnings or performance improvement plans in place prior to being fired - Your whereabouts being closely monitored by the CEO and leadership who prowl the office under the guise of “getting coffee” every 20 minutes just so they can eavesdrop and look at your computer - Startingly high rates of turnover yet no internal review of why/how these positions continue to be set up for failure - Ever-changing business priorities so it’s impossible to actually meet any of the goals you originally set for yourself - The general disregard for correct spelling and grammar, even in formal business correspondence - A refusal to hold leaders accountable for their persistent bad behavior, making it a welcome environment where discomfort and uneasiness can thrive at everyone else’s expense - Rigid “unspoken” rules that prohibit any semblance of flexible working accommodations so as not to violate the CEO’s personal pet peeves (everyone has to show up before 8am on the dot, don’t you dare leave before 5pm, don’t eat lunch at your desk, don’t leave your coat on your chair, no working from home even as a pandemic persists!) - A general state of questioning your self-repsect, intellect, and sanity, trying to figure out where your life went so horribly wrong All of this and yet the ability to truly convey just how badly your tenure crushed your soul will evade you. It really is one of those “You had to be there” type of experiences.