Oh boy…where do I start? In this role you can expect:
Terrible Work/Life Balance. Or more accurately, the lack of any kind of balance between work expectations and what used to be your life. When you enter a role on ROPs, you quickly see that the work is not only monotonous and repetitive, but you also see that you are expected to handle a volume of work that far exceeds anything that should be expected of a single individual. Any pleas that you make to your managers will fall on deaf ears or will be met with utter disdain, as your struggles are only indicative of your incompetence as an employee, not the fact that management is out of touch with the reality of the position, the teams that they manage, and the ridiculous pressures placed upon the employees.
TERRIBLE (middle) management. You will be micromanaged, and it will drive you to resent your job with every fiber of your being. Managers treat their employees like children. I’ve seen them shush people, scold them for laughing, criticize how people dress, and if you’re not ‘in’ with them, you’ll know.
Monotonous and mind-numbing work. The roles within ROPs center around basic administrative or transactional duties, and you will be expected to perform these tasks day, after day, after day. It’s been said that GLG is a glorified call center, but I’d say that “self-aggrandizing middle man” is more accurate. This is particularly fitting of the teams within ROPs; Member Solutions, Surveys, Network Development, and especially Project Support. Do not be fooled by the sleek (yet extremely vague) job descriptions.
Assigned seating. Yes, this was actually a thing. I’ve heard that GLG has moved to an “activity based” model in the new office space, but that doesn’t stop managers from micro managing what seat/area you’re consigned to.
Structural Inequality. You do not get to pick the practice area that you are assigned to. You are simply placed wherever there is a vacancy. To some extent, this does not matter because no prior industry knowledge is needed (nor will you need to learn any) for you to perform within the various practice areas (Life Sciences, Corporate, Hedge Funds, Private Equities, etc.) as the roles and tasks are all repetitive, administrative, or transactional. This creates a great low-cost plug and play business model for the company within both research and ROPs, that also helps lessen the impact of the extremely high turnover rates. Unfortunately this does not make the employee feel like anything more than replaceable fodder. Another problem with this model for a new hire is that some practice areas are inherently more demanding of time or more difficult to work in than others, so you may land in a terrible situation and without having any say in the matter.
General Disrespect. Your managers will openly and casually speak negatively about other employees. They will also encourage managers on other teams to voice even the most pedantic and mundane of complaints. Rather than actively working to find solutions, your manager will instead chastise you regarding the negative feedback that they’ve received (little did I know that MY manager routinely solicited others for their complaints). If you ask for further clarification regarding the negative feedback, none will be given. Which begs the question – how are you supposed to grow and improve within your role if there is no context provided for you to correct your mistakes? Another perk of the childish managers that you routinely deal with is that any mistakes you do make will be held over your head and used as leverage for the rest of your time on ROPs. Also, any compliments or positive feedback forwarded to your manager without your knowledge will be withheld from you, by your manager, in yet another silly little psychological ploy.
Because the majority of employees within ROPs are in their mid-twenties, cliques usually form within the teams. As such, it’s highly beneficial for you to befriend your managers, because you are more likely to receive promotions or more leniency on the day to day within your role. On three of the teams within ROPs there are no male managers; this seems to be a little more than coincidental. I’m a woman who firmly believes in female empowerment, but oppressing anybody in the workplace, for whatever reason, is absolutely abhorrent. I’d say that this is indicative of the cronyism and politics that run rampant within this business segment.
Management is about as transparent as a brick wall. Many important discussions regarding your future and the direction of your team will not be shared with you, and once decisions are made, things will be sprung upon you at the last possible second. This can be very jarring and unpleasant, but also creates the perception that management is just making it up as they go (but I have the utmost confidence that they know exactly what they’re doing).
God forbid you have any bright ideas, creative suggestions, or constructive feedback; if you do, keep it to yourself. If you share an idea (or anything for that matter) with management, it will be shot down, ignored, cast away, dismissed, or viewed as contrarian. It’s almost as if the management seeks to quash the bright, enthusiastic employees as fast as they possibly can because they feel threatened.
Terrible double standards. Managers come and go during the work week as they please, while you and your colleagues break your backs working overtime just to satiate the demands of the research teams and clients. Management will constantly pressure you to do more, in less time mind you, so that you will work less OT. Even better, they will question the validity of your time sheets, as if you would willingly want to spend your nights and weekends keeping up with the demands of clients. Don’t consider asking for off days, as your managers will treat this like pulling teeth, even though your contract explicitly states your right to utilize the “flex time off" policy. Managers on the other hand can message their respective team mid-day, letting them know that they’ll be OOO or working remote for that day.
