TLDR: No Upward Mobility, Severely Below Market Value Wages, OSHA Violations, Poor Working Conditions (Practically a SweatShop), Massive Turnover, Abuse of Recent Graduates, Unionization Efforts, Horrible Middle and Upper Management, Harassment and Discrimination, Unethical Medical Practices Lowest to highest: Employee, Team Lead, Supervisor, Management (Directors, HR, VP) Overall I started optimistic about accepting a position within Tempus in the pre-analytics (order processing, accessioning and returns) department and the many benefits it seemed to offer with PTO, “upward mobility”, and a so-called great environment with many resources. Slowly I have realized the truth as coworkers I adored left after conditions worsened and cruel statements made by management were uttered. I say biotech company, but it’s a tech company with a lab component. One side is treated way better than the other. They will lure you in with false promises of upward mobility, but it is a complete facade. The average to below average workers get rewarded and the overachievers get punished. They say after 6 months but it is more like years, do you have a slight opportunity to apply to internal positions. If you overachieve at your job, you will be gridlocked into that position until you quit. People that have been here for 3+ years, never got the opportunity for upward movement after providing training for new employees, extending themselves after hours, and being an overall exemplary employee. Over the past 2+ months I have witnessed at least 8 employees of our team leave after watching their benefits disappear, their concerns ignored, mistreated by management, and applications for internal positions being consistently rejected. Currently you cannot apply internally as understaffing and turnover is high in our department. It has been for months and will be for the foreseeable future. In addition, order processing is being required to take over responsibilities outside of their job description. This is departmental cross training that comes with a new title and pay increase, but they are not being compensated with such. Most of us are currently looking for new jobs as the projected conditions and overall work environment quality is declining. Even the brand new employees are doing the same and have written many of the other recent not so positive reviews you might see. If you critique or slight one of the directors, you will be blacklisted from applying internally. Currently they are “welcoming feedback” but it is a trap. Most have expressed that they don’t care about how employees feel or are treated. They have minimized safety concerns, donning them “alleged” even when met with photographic proof. They continue to be the biggest problem at Tempus. It’s very clear that they target recent college graduates desperate for a job and will drastically underpay you compared to market value positions by at least $8,000 a year. For some reason, they only hire college graduates but use the fact that they don’t require a degree as a way to keep you from negotiating your pay (~$20/hour). The “adjustments” they make at annual evaluations are pennies and will barely keep you above the poverty line. Most of us coined the free snacks “the Tempus struggle meal” as you are severely underpaid and struggle to meet financial demands in such a costly city. The relocation assistance they provide is a trap as you have to pay it back within 30 days if you quit or are fired before being employed for a year. There is no incentive to stay with this company as there is no 401K contribution. Management focuses so much on turnaround time (TAT) for patient results that they’re willing to do everything unethical first before compensating employees fairly including sacrificing the health and safety of their employees. They brainstormed the fastest way to process samples and came up with a legal version of a sweatshop. You will work in a line and pass samples down to the next person under near constant duress from upper management. The directors have been pushing supervisors and employees to violate necessary medical documentation practices, encouraging employees to skip steps in protocol to push out faster results, and encouraging borderline illegal practices. Tempus has the most toxic employee-management relationships I have ever encountered and management at my former jobs called employees slurs. The nearest break room is about half a city block walk and if you come back late from a break, management will have your hands. Talking to others while you work has been discouraged by management as it is considered unproductive. They are finding every way possible to keep people chained to their desks by updating workflows. Any time not-seated is considered unproductive. If you have questions, you can slack your supervisor and expect a reply in 24-48 hours because they are so overloaded. The people that answered questions have all left as they were abused by management. They also reported that any bodily pain they had disappeared after leaving Tempus because the work conditions are so unsafe. Of the benefits Tempus offered or I guess benefits that had been offered, they’re rapidly disappearing. Partway through this year, management decided to cut the “unlimited PTO” plan from the lab side of the company and replaced it with such a subpar accumulation plan that it essentially forces employees to come in sick. If you are on the teams that are horribly micromanaged, don’t expect to attend company events or many other benefits they claim to offer. Pretend to not be part of the company at all. The business/tech side of the company has it significantly better and probably won’t lose their PTO policy as management knows everyone would leave. People have compared the company arrangement to a caste system and it has its truths. Within the past couple months OSHA received complaints about safety risks in the workplace and sent Tempus at least 2 letters that management claims they have addressed. This happened because management continually ignored these concerns for months and still hasn’t fully addressed them all as they’re still discussed in the facilities slack channel. A large workplace expansion is almost complete and it is the most bleak labspace I have ever seen. Imagine a psych ward with the brightest overhead lights that evaporates any shadow in the room. Dozens of employees have expressed that the space is subpar, but management has provided nothing but excuses and inaction as employees work around caution tape in some of the most demoralizing conditions possible. One team lead quit in the middle of their shift because conditions are so terrible and the overall treatment of employees is deplorable. Multiple instances of discrimination by upper management have been recorded. If you have any lung issues, stay away because there is constant back exhaust from poor filtration systems that leave a burning smell that management ignores concerns about. If you have a disability or any sort of medical conditions like epilepsy or migraines, stay away because all you will get is sunglasses. Any efforts for accommodations will be taken as a joke and you will be ridiculed by management. Harassment from security officers amongst female workers has been reported, with them receiving messages on Slack that they’re being watched through cameras and being told to wave or smile at the camera. Multiple racial groups being profiled has been reported through consistent usage of incorrect names for same race employees, assumptions of race and stereotyping for holiday events, management assuming employees would be friends because of a common race, and rejecting time off for religious holidays. Over the past few weeks upper management was made aware of unionization efforts among employees. One of the VPs, along with directors, lawyers, and HR set up meetings department by department in what was essentially a union-busting effort and deterrent. Multiple times during this meeting, they were caught lying about union processes and cut off employees voicing concerns. Any recent changes that have been happening within the company has been catalyzed by fear of unionization and fear of a surprise visit by OSHA. All of these changes have happened at once. These have been concerns that have been raised to management for months or potentially years but have been met with excuses or been told it was not possible, but suddenly have a rapid solution coinciding right when management was made aware of the union efforts. The union is likely the only thing providing solutions. During our meeting, one of the VPs talked about how they couldn’t answer questions as they had a vacation planned and begged the employees who can barely afford food to show him some compassion. A number of supervisors have raised concerns to this VP about their employees feeling undervalued and mistreated and when asked “What improvements management is going to make to rectify these feelings?” they responded with “Are you kidding me?!?” and acted like our requests to be treated like humans were unjust. Any public statements put out by upper management at this moment have been nothing but an attempt to appeal to emotion but behind closed doors we are discussed as less than human to them.
