Great colleagues, too much politics, flawed management
Pros
My peers were fantastic. All of the joys and frustrations were shared mutually, and we made sure never to hang anyone out to dry. Even if management didn't show a lot of respect to their subordinates, we subordinates would show that respect to each other. The noble ones --- and there were several --- were the hardest to leave because they were the ones who kept the optimism going when the morale dropped. They were the ones who stayed and kept doing their job, or they left and found positions deserving of their dedication and abilities. The fitness center in the basement, and the extracurricular activities ran by the employees were a lot of fun and helped with managing the work-life balance. Those helped foster the deep relationships beyond a simple working one. The fitness center especially was worth it --- a $10/month perk that had classes and quality equipment. Medical, dental, and vision benefits were excellent, and
Cons
A month after I started, they re-structured the management hierarchy, and a year after that, they made the move to a for-profit structure. These changes clouded the actual mission of the company, and it lowered morale everywhere. Political games were played during the management re-structure, preventing several people deserving of promotions and creating an untrusting environment that remained for the duration of my employment. This extended into the technical hierarchy, making it difficult to become technical reviewers and leaders unless you played the games. I knew of several colleagues that left because of it. The other major drawback of the management re-structure was the movement of managers into departments of which they had no knowledge and/or about which they didn't care to learn. The departments which which I interfaced were run in the same manner with very little flexibility for the nature of the department's business. Some groups had a harder time getting projects through, but the whip was always cracked onto other groups less deserving.