IBM

• The work-life balance is good.
• Gain experience working with big customers with complex systems.
• Good people work there.

• They had layoffs almost every year during my many years with them. People who were toxic would be left around as a buffer for the next layoff, and great people would leave after a layoff so they're not next.

• So many layers of management and bureaucracy. Upper management were often out of touch, and developers often felt underappreciated or powerless.

• Almost never got bonuses, and when we did, it was so small I was embarrassed to mention it to friends that worked at other places. There was hardly any incentive to do exceptional work or give my all when it would often go unappreciated.

• No longer an innovative company for many reasons. One reason is that innovation often comes because someone wants a promotion, not because they're solving a great need in the industry. There is so much process and bureaucracy; there is hardly any inspiration for innovation. There is also little incentive to try something new because you know there will be no reward for it (no bonuses), and it'll be met with so much resistance and process, it's just not worth fighting. There is no space to try anything new in the midst of all the process, bureaucracy, resistance, and daily grind (paperwork, training, support, etc.). The business definitely did not facilitate innovation or make it easy/attractive.

Some real self-reflection is needed because great people work there, but the business is definitely not bringing the best out of them or facilitating a culture of innovation among the everyday developers that get forgotten with all the bureaucracy and the politics.