Pros
- The work and what you'll do is meaningful. Having a firm grasp of this perspective will help anchor your mental and well-being in the role. - Post-COVID: Great opportunities for travel and making new connections. - Fixed working hours: 9 to 5 still applies, if you enjoy such a structure. Best to enforce your off-hour boundaries and not relent easily. - Limited creative and executive freedom: You'll get lots of practice to put your mind to work on programs and by way of program design, to a certain extent, but still have to pander to your clients' wishes. But hey, it's still some degree of freedom. It is NOT a start-up, however much it's advertised and regardless of the impression you get; I made this mistake and I regret it tremendously. - There are still some great colleagues/peers left, and they can definitely value-add to your work experience and learnings. - My advice is to stay in this role for a few years and learn (and do) as much as you can, keep your head down, and look for the next step up in your career. It's a decent stepping stone, if anything else.
Cons
- Unlimited personal time off: I put this as a con because it does not make sense due to the project-oriented nature of our work, and the consistent flow of work that comes along. There'll never be a 'good' time to take leave as we're back-to-back on programs most of the time (post-COVID), and this backfires on the purpose of the system. The boss knows this as well, and puts this in hopes of squeezing more time out of the staff since people won't be taking that much time off. - Attending calls/meetings across timezones: As a global company, this is inevitable. However, I've seen occasions where people are expected to attend team meetings hosted by the boss even when on holidays. Time-off should be an entitlement, which shows how little he cares about your time-off. - Boss plays favourites, makes snide and unnecessary remarks in group calls which are not professional and just shows bad form. Usually will play it off with a laugh or say it's a joke. It's hard to push back because of his title and he gets away with it. - Company culture is unfavourable towards Asia; very Euro- and American-centric. Majority of client base is European, which may explain. Business development efforts were made to expand into US and Asia, but have failed so far. - Company is currently undergoing a merger with another US-based company. It's still early stages now, but I do hope that some of the new company's culture can rub off on WDHB. I wouldn't write off this merger just yet, though I'm definitely not holding my breath for any substantial change, since it's still going to be the same person at the helm. - Boss is a businessman, cares only about numbers. He says very different things to different individuals, and between 1-on-1s and in group settings. Do not judge this book by his cover. I joined the company hoping to follow a leader, but it turns out that he's just another manager in a higher position.
