Workday

By and large defined by the team you're on.

• WLB is great.
• By-and-large, really solid benefits (401k, insurance, stock options, mat/pat leave).
• Lots of small, random benefits (e.g., SF Giants tickets, or discount on some clothing line).
• A really solid infrastructure for Diversity (will elaborate in cons).
• A lot of interesting tech opportunities, due in part to the proprietary technology (if you're not in App-Dev). A good stepping stone, or place to settle in for awhile.
• Generation Workday Tools Intern rotation is a good college learning experience.
• Generally speaking, chill people.

There really isn't much clear direction. Things are just kinda happening, and maybe you're doing the important work or maybe you're in a pigeon-hole.

Problems are usually re-orged into obscurity instead of addressed in any meaningful way. It's additionally really chaotic for developers with constantly changing team structure and vision.

App-Dev (Applications Development): The proprietary language really does limit how much one learns in the role, and management knows that. The tech stack is diversifying, but expect to fight one another for the opportunities, which are far and few. Initiatives meant for developers keep getting led along, maybe because of poor direction.

Cash salary is low for the scale of the company. Compensation primarily comes from stock packages that lock you in for X number of years. I'll acknowledge that some individuals seek out stock.

Leadership is aggressively anti-remote work, come post-COVID. The phrase "remote work will be rare" is the common phrase.

Diversity initiatives haven't gone much further than step 1. Lots of corporate infrastructure, resources, etc., but individual/team experience is really hit-or-miss.

App Dev Intern role is not a good college learning experience.

The "Workday Culture" is just weird. Leadership talks down a lot, like a paternal figure, stuck reminiscing about 'The Good Old Days' from like, 4 years ago. Personality precedes performance, persistently, especially if you can be 'One of the bro's,' which is really bad in some departments. And in general, you feel like an outsider if you don't view your job as more than a job, and the psychological toll is real. The unfortunate thing is that this also includes your background as well as personality.

Don't get me wrong. There are some amazing teams who respect one another, foster psychological/emotional safety for all identities, and have constant curiosity. There are some amazing managers who are focused on the person, not your output. However, there are as many teams who foster an exclusionary crony-culture that strives for image instead of meaningful work. And sometimes those things are just a re-org away.

Business objectives and an actual employee-focused culture (not facetious lip-service) can go hand in hand.

Have leadership that actually has trust in their employees (and hire people you can actually trust) so that workers can be flexible to be their best selves.