IBM

You get your own office, and the pay is not bad for the area. IBM has one of the best dental plus plans I have ever seen.

The ability to work remotely can be nice at times, especially when visiting friends or family out of town.

We have monthly "Take a Break" events where you get to relax for 1-1.5 hours while drinking beer and eating snacks with fellow co-workers.

IBM does not have a very good work climate and employee amenities. Management doesn’t seem to care that we are far behind other companies in these areas. Employees do not get LCDs, no optical mice, and the laptops are outdated and only refreshed every four years or more. Need a new keyboard or label maker? Good luck scavenging the area for old, outdated spare parts. That is the general attitude towards the work climate. Productivity is slowed even further by capping the work inbox to 300 MB. And when that fills up, you stop receiving emails until you clear out older emails.

The age gap between workers is also evident. There are very few young people working here, and not much in place to create a social environment. There is an onsite ‘Recreational’ center that is basically a locker room, a shower, a field, and some outdoor basketball courts. The Tucson site is depressing and outdated, and there are not many places to eat for lunch.

The hiring process concentrates more on hiring people with leadership skills who are willing to do the work versus people who have the technical ability and want to do the work. So, you end up with a lot of people racing to become managers and a lack of good developers.

Pay more attention to work climate and employee amenities. Isn't it worth keeping your employees happy for improved productivity?

It seems that IBM tries to save money on the smaller things (such as free snacks and optical mice) instead of preventing the simple things from stopping productivity.

The hiring process is a mess. IBM misses out on giving offers to potential high contributors. Not everybody wants to be a leader or manager. Sometimes, you just need a good worker bee.