Inflexible HR Culture, Punitive Policies, and a Toxic Environment
Pros
Pay structure can be competitive if you meet strict attendance metrics Technical training and certifications are available Some great individuals on the production floor
Cons
Punitive PTO policy: If you use your personal paid time off (PTO), it still counts against your “unexcused absence” total. Essentially, you're punished for using the time you're entitled to. Extreme attendance rules: 1-minute tardy = a strike. 10 strikes in a year = automatic termination, no matter your performance or reason. No exceptions for family emergencies, traffic accidents (even with proof), or anything else. Unfair and unsafe mandatory overtime: Company policy says 72-hour notice must be given for overtime. In practice, we often got less than a day — sometimes hours before — with no flexibility. Missing a surprise Saturday shift counted against you. Pay raises denied over tiny infractions: You can earn certifications and complete advanced training, but if you’re even one minute late during the evaluation period, or use any PTO, your raise is denied. Hostile HR culture: After making a joking comment in the engineering support chat — something commonplace in any fast-paced production environment — I was almost terminated. The message was sent accidentally by a co-worker before I could delete it. I was forced to apologize and when I explained the mistake, no one listened. Zero accountability for real issues: When I brought up that I had been threatened twice by a former manager and that there were multiple active sexual harassment investigations with no consequences, HR had no answer. They just said, “Let’s not deviate from the issue.”