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Terrible Work/Life Balance

Lead Engineer
Former Employee
Worked at General Electric for 1 year
May 13, 2023
Wilmington, North Carolina
1.0
Doesn't RecommendPositive Outlook
Pros

They're desperate for engineers, so they'll let you work remote if you have a few years' experience.

Cons

Time vouchering is the most inhumane thing ever. They expect you to account for every 15 minutes, and it must be chargeable to a project. On the other end, they only give you a finite amount of time to complete a project, and the allotments are exceptionally lean.

You must charge 8 hours every day, and there aren't charge codes for typical work things like checking/answering email, discussing with coworkers, taking a 10-minute break after working 2 hours straight, or even pursuing a potential novel idea. They literally want every second to be laser-focused on work and have the accounting system in place to enforce it.

If you don't complete your work in the allotted time, you have to report it to your team lead, your manager, and the project manager. It's like going to the principal's office, except everyone is an adult. If this sounds insane, it's because it is.

This isn't just clocking in and clocking out. This is a systematic way of looking over your shoulder and making sure you are working at 100% efficiency at all times. Your bonus and your pay raise are dependent upon how quickly you complete your assignments.

Advice to Management

It would be a great place to work if you reduced time vouchering to simply clocking in and clocking out. Requiring all 8 hours be accounted for and charged to projects with limited buckets of time is ridiculous and doesn't reflect how real work actually gets done.

Additional Ratings

Work/Life Balance
1.0
Culture and Values
1.0
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
4.0
Career Opportunities
2.0
Compensation and Benefits
3.0
Senior Management
1.0

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