Management & Human Resources don't seem to care about how you are treated by a volunteer (or co-workers), and don't expect your executive director to defend you from an angry volunteer either. Human Resources instantly takes the side of the company 99% of the time before even hearing the whole story. So good luck trying to make a case on how you've been wronged or how you are treated badly, etc. They simply won't care unless you maybe threaten legal action, maybe...
The management of the company will never realize the pure fear employees have of speaking to Human Resources. It's widely believed that whatever is said to HR always finds it's way back to the person you were complaining about. No matter how confidential they tell you the meeting is. Why? Well, in order to file a formal complaint, the accused person must be notified of the complaint. So if you are in a department the size of 5 people, it's pretty easy for you to be sniffed out. And if you don't file a formal complaint, it's swept under the rug, never to be seen again. So you either put your job on the line or you shut up and keep your head down.
Some managers and execs often don't get along well, so be prepared to be stuck in the middle and be micro-managed to the extreme. Execs will often pin tasks to you directly and manage employees without notifying managers. This creates a stressful and complex web of tasks and duties from both directions with one party not aware of what the other party has been assigned. It seems like this is done deliberately at times to make you screw up or look bad.
Numerous complaints have been made about those holding long-standing executive positions in select areas of the company, some serious. Word gets around. However years go by and everything is still the same. Those up top seem to stay there forever, everyone's feeling is that they get away with murder. Those on the bottom change frequently if they make too much of a fuss. Execs will be scolded by HR to straighten up and fly right, and they will, for about a month. Then things return to normal when your exec’s phony happy & thankful attitude disappears quickly.
IT staff are trying their best and are mostly fine, but computer hardware and software are outdated. Everyone is running Windows XP with locked-down systems so installing "not approved" software requires you jumping through hoops and filling out endless forms. By then you are halted by a self-righteous, know-it-all IT tech (who does not know it all) who decides you can't have it installed for some bogus reason (usually because of their personal feelings on the item). This is the year 2012 not 1999, get your act together!
Parts of the building have received a fresh coat of paint or remodeling, IEEE is obviously doing well and pouring funds into new projects. But none of those funds seem to be going to increase employee salaries or working conditions.
Office furniture that has been the same since the 90's was recently deemed "too old" by the big wigs. This meant renovations with smaller cubicles with no tall walls! With departments cramming more people into smaller areas too. Thankfully the negative feedback seems to have dampened future renovation plans of other cubicles, for now. Of course the big wigs who have these ideas aren't effected in their office, so why should they care?
We have obviously overgrown our building, but no serious action is being taken to take full ownership of our second building down the road where we currently only lease a few floors. You would think that with record membership numbers IEEE, they could afford to buy more space.
In all honesty this place is the standard office job, don't expect anything spectacular. They are after your ideas and talent with little to no reward. Did you just save the company big bucks by creating a tool yourself or designing some way to fix a project? Too bad, you may get a pat on the back (if you're lucky) but don't expect a reward or any recognition. This is expected of you. But don't worry, your higher-ups will probably take the credit for it anyway, but never the blame if it fails. They can clearly do no wrong.
