Disney

Like many others mentioned, it's Disney! The idea to contribute to Disney was hard to pass up. A few of the folks, as with any place, were awesome, helpful, and genuinely cared. The idea of a position at this company is a dream for some.

They usually hire contractors for the legally allowed 18 months (in California, with renewals every 6 months) before bringing them fully in. You don't actually get any Disney benefits for the first 1.5 years you are there. During that time, you are constantly reminded you are a contractor and "not Disney," as they say.

I was then treated as a regular employee and told to come into the office and attend meetings which were not part of the contract. I was spoken to aggressively in front of peers constantly by managers that weren't even mine. The manager hierarchy is strange, and everyone seems to be a manager.

It seemed to be an unnecessarily toxic environment where innovation was discouraged for the sake of keeping jobs/contracts, so as an engineer, you feel handcuffed. I was told weekly any of us could be "let go," which felt unnecessarily stressful.

I do understand everyone is under immense pressure and scrutiny at Disney, even management.

Perhaps rotating through contractors every 6-18 months prevents innovation, growth, and relationships from happening naturally, as everyone just becomes numbers when we're all people.