This company has no care or concern for work-home balance, nor do they care about or respect employees who have worked for them for years and years. While working here for almost ten years, it was very apparent from the beginning that the general attitude of management is "Employees do not care about the company, nor can they be trusted. We must treat them all with suspicion, micromanage them to make sure they aren't cheating us, and stab them in the back whenever it could be beneficial to us." I've watched many employees come and go who gave their time and energy to help the company succeed, gave up weekends with their families, happily worked holidays, all because they believed in helping the work place. And these people were continuously treated like criminals.
It is a very oppressive environment to try and succeed in as well. You work with the constant miasma of mistrust and suspicion lingering over you at all times. You are constantly reminded that you cannot be trusted, and that you are unworthy of kindness and consideration when you fall into need of help. It's unfortunate, and depressing for those employees who wanted to stay for a lifetime.
When I was hired, I remember the CEO saying "We want this place to be a stepping stone for you, use us to get to the next place." Those words make a lot of sense when you see their turnaround rate. They do not make this company a desirable place to work long term. Leaving this company was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life, and now working for other, more successful businesses, it's even more apparent how limiting the upper managements restrictive, paranoid, and distrustful policies are to their own success. They hamper their own employees as part of their way of life, and in return, it's hampering their ability to move forward.
I worked for this awful place for almost ten years, and as an optimist I was focused on seeing the good and ignoring the bad things all around me. I watched people be treated horribly, and I ignored it, thinking that it wouldn't happen to me because I gave so much, because I rarely had a complaint, because I busted myself on a daily basis. I fell for the first piece of advice I received from almost every worker at RSA that I interacted with during my first year: Don't ever, ever think you are irreplaceable. No matter who you are, or how much time you have invested, they will throw you away without a second thought when you fail to serve them without question. I should have listened to that, listened to all the times they've escorted long time employees out to the street in tears. I guess finally getting that same treatment is my karma for not standing up for others more often. Karma does that to you, and I'm sure it will happen to this company too at some point.
My advice to anyone considering working for this company is this:
1.) You ARE replaceable to them. Never believe that you mean more to them than the person who cleans the toilets. This applies to EVERYONE.
2.) They are VERY good at lying to you. It's what they do. I'm sure you have seen the replies here on this very site, acting apologetic and concerned for the well being of the negative posters. This is a facade, do not fall for it. The very reason they distrust all of their employees is because they themselves are liars and thieves, and the devil you carry is the devil you see in others.
1.) Please do just as the CEO suggested many years ago: use them as a minor stepping stone and then leave. Get out as fast as you can, and run as far as you can.