Chaotic and culture has become toxic
Pros
Good work-life balance for non-managers. Engineering culture and standards are improving. Pay (outside of London at least) is competitive-ish although will never match big tech or high finance. Great benefits: pension, holiday, healthcare. Varied work; good place to learn for juniors. Most colleagues are nice and supportive.
Cons
Poor and worsening developer experience and ways of working e.g. constant switching between two laptops with different OSs as required for different tasks and access. Company culture has become toxic over the last year or two, especially since the Group Values were introduced; management's decisions and behaviour completely contradict these values. Increasingly authoritarian leadership with little tolerance for disagreement, and middle managers are forced to toe the line and pretend everything is good. A lot of "toxic positivity" and a huge lack of trust in employees. Constant reorganisations, frequent team moves, and heavy reliance on third-party consultants make having any long-term vision difficult. No engineering career progression beyond senior/lead; management is the only way up. Levels and salary bands are very wide, with little or no ability to move within your band as you gain experience and responsibility. Managers periodically lie that opportunities to move are coming soon, but they never do come. Flexible working benefits like compressed hours have been taken away and 2 days per week in office for all will start being enforced very soon. The current senior leaders are going back to antiquated ideas about productivity and collaboration, in spite of great performance and results during the pandemic. Vicious circle of engineering leads who talk a good game but lack strong engineering knowledge or experience promoting others like themselves, resulting in poor decisions and prioritisation.
