IBM

Are you starving and/or can't find another job?

Are you mediocre at your profession?

Come to IBM, they will take you!

Hmm, where to begin? First of all, the place reeks of budget problems. Chairs are broken or stained. Absolutely disgusting.

When I joined, they gave me a broken chair. Upon discussing it with the facilities manager, he told me to go steal one from someone else. Wow.

If you need equipment like a headset or cable, which you need to do your job, they will tell you to go buy one yourself.

Someone is probably stealing the water that is supposed to be given to the employees because it arrives at random times, frequency, and quantity.

Political games arise from people who have probably given up trying to be responsible or are too stressed to care. No attention is paid to soft skills when hiring, which results in a hostile, 'tit-for-tat' work environment.

Outdated technologies, tools, and processes exist. There is company literature on doing it the right way, but it is not followed. Attempting to promote better processes or tools is met with strong opposition from management. Staying at IBM for a long time is a sure way to plateau your knowledge and drain your soul.

There are some good people, but the company is infested with mediocre, at best, people in key positions. These are the dinosaurs that have been with the company for 10 years, who couldn't get a job anywhere else if they died trying. Capable, well-rounded people come and go once they get fed up or find better opportunities.

Ridiculous requests come from management, like asking to plan the rest of your vacation days 8 months in advance with 3 days' notice. Or enforcing a dress code that is outright dangerous in 95-degree weather. Then they send an email to take "warm showers" to avoid heat exhaustion. There are no showers or locker rooms here, so I don't know what planet they are from when they send these things.

I am sometimes ashamed to tell people I work for IBM. All the good people I knew at the company have left for higher salaries and better working conditions.