Overall, there has been a march towards implementing a long list of dehumanizing policies.
1. Yearly reviews are a joke. Managers are forced to stack rank in a bell curve - with no one allowed to directly be given a 4/5 despite performance. (Managers have been directed to that ratings can only be rounded UP to 4 within certain orgs). This approach may make sense for metric-driven organizations, but for high performing teams performing work that requires analysis and thought, this is unacceptable. Clearly everyone shouldn't be a "star", but this approach is unfair and demoralizing.
2. "Outcomes" (goals) tied to bonuses are forced to be broader and outside the scope of our control (e.g. this 'thing" overall is delivered, not just you doing your job well). This means that even if you excel, if some other group can't deliver, you lose some of your bonus. This is just an excuse for HR not to pay out as much in bonuses.
3. Time is now micromanaged and tracked down to the hour.
4. They have now changed the "hybrid flex policy" from 3/2 to 4/1. Despite an overwhelming amount of evidence showing the benefit to employees AND companies, our leadership elected to make things objectively worse for those of us that already had this benefit.
5. Promotions are nearly non-existent or unobtainable. At the start of my tenure here, there was a lot of opportunity for advancement. As the company has solidified post-merger, things have continued to get worse. Opportunities for advancement feel non-existent.
6. Raises, even when "exceeding expectations", still don't outpace inflation.
In short, every motivation that employees may have had to "go above and beyond" have been systematically removed. Employees are only incentivized to do the bare minimum at this point. This reality is becoming more evident - people are less willing to collaborate and be helpful.
