Epic reviews

Management runs on "feedback", which means whatever your coworkers and occasionally customers (but usually your coworkers) say about you determines your growth in the company. Given that very few Epic employees had substantial careers anywhere else prior to Epic, and that the Epic burnout rate is high with employees rarely staying more than 5 years (or even 3), the feedback system has resulted in a management structure with very little diversity of thinking. Put simply, no one knows any better. So, you better tow the company line and kiss up. If a coworker is having a bad 18-hour work day and in their 1 year of work experience does not like an email you wrote, they might complain to your team lead, damaging your career as a consequence.

Rarely is one's best work considered good enough. There is always fault to be found. Never before have I heard these phrases uttered so often: leadership by fear, viper pit, thrown under the bus, cover your ass, fly under the radar. The "Judy spotlight" is dreadful and should be avoided at all costs. I arrived at Epic with a ton of experience and high performance ratings. I worked hard. I was engaged and contributed. I succeed at several significant projects where my predecessors has struggled. I was one of the few people who could survive "Judy review" on the first pass. My family life suffered because I was working all the time. I left feeling like I was worthless.