Management is willing to give up integrity and safety of employees to satisfy certain "big" clients. The workload can get incredibly stressful, the constant micromanagement is ridiculous yet the training is almost nonexistent and testing supplies are scarce. Analysts are always expected to deliver results on time regardless of lack of training, supply shortage, staff shortage, instrument calibrations taking too long or sample management not providing the information they're supposed to provide. To make matters worse, client services team constantly accepts expedited test requests for tests that no analyst is trained on or tests that the lab doesn't even have the equipment for. Analysts are frequently asked to significantly cut down the turnaround time if a client is willing to pay a hefty surcharge, regardless of testing backlogs or any other issues in the lab. The communication between departments is terrible. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. The building is poorly constructed and has a terrible HVAC system that would frequently malfunction and would sometimes make working conditions unbearable. There has been numerous ceiling leaks inside the lab and bathrooms, ceiling panels falling off, sickening natural gas smell, jetfuel smell from the nearby airport, chemical waste smell and rotten food smell from the food lab. This lab is the definition of a toxic work environment in every sense of the word. It is not surprising that the employee morale is so low and the turnover is so high.
