I was with the company for three years before my departure. It’s a family-owned business, originally founded by the father and now managed by his children. During my time there, I noticed a high turnover rate, which was concerning. The company places a significant focus on minimizing expenses, something I particularly observed within the IT department. Despite consistently meeting my yearly goals, I never received my full bonus, and raises were limited to just 2% each year. After speaking with colleagues, it seems this pattern was common across the organization.
There were also signs of instability at the leadership level, as the company went through three CFOs during my tenure. Town hall meetings often revealed that the company was barely breaking even in terms of profit and spending, which led me to believe that they may be planning to sell the business.
From my experience, work-life balance was nonexistent. The environment was high-stress, with frequent last-minute projects. Based on my prior experience at larger organizations, this felt unsustainable. The lack of company culture and absence of formal write-ups or warnings for issues added to the challenges. Despite the stress, I stayed as long as I did because I had negotiated a competitive salary.
