- Pressure around maintaining billability is a source of regular stress for staff and negatively impacts cultural wellbeing. It is common for people to apologize if they take more than 3-5 minutes to discuss things that are not work-related at the beginning of meetings. The company’s focus on profitability and ESOP value also negatively impacts wellbeing. Being an “employee-owner” is often marketed as a positive, but the vast majority of employees have no say in how the company is run and the money gained through the ESOP is not of significant value unless you stay at the company for a long time. Overall, compensation at Mathematica is mediocre despite the focus on profitability.
- No sick leave and limited holidays/time off. Most employees work while sick to avoid taking from their PTO bank. PTO accrual is based on rank and tenure. When an employee runs out of PTO and needs to take more, a company-wide email is distributed asking other employees to donate their PTO days rather than the company making an exception for extenuating circumstances.
- Grievances with company culture, while long-standing, are never addressed in meaningful ways that would produce a true shift.
- Limited professional development opportunities. “Professional development” at Mathematica usually means the learning that happens on projects.
- Work hours can be long for extended periods of time and senior leaders do not model balance. Some project directors "joke" about not sleeping and working through holidays, weekends, and vacations.
- Promotions usually take between 4-6 years to occur and require a nearly flawless record of performance. They often seem overdue by the time they are given.
- Intellectual contributions are not particularly expected or valued from research associates, research analysts, and— to a lesser extent— researchers. Work experience prior to Mathematica often seems undervalued or unappreciated.
