Pros
Some of the best people I've ever worked with - not just in personality but in skill and work ethic. A really solid group who tries their absolute best to work with the meagre offering they've got.
Kontras
Where do I start? My reason for leaving was poor management - a big chunk of the senior staff don't have a clue and only got to where they got through unsavory means. Bullying, gaslighting, throwing people under the bus for management's problems are all standard processes. Inappropriate ways of speaking to staff, and unrealistic expectations on workload - as others have said, no real solid deadlines, everything is needed immediately with no tangible way to prioritise what is most important. Told I was a highly valued employee one day and then accused of not doing any work the next when I only sent my line manager one email on a particular day (for context - a day after coming back from leave and trying my best to work through the 600-odd emails I'd been left with over a 2 day break). Due to the lack of actual qualifications or experience, a number of the managers have no clue what they're talking about - budgets that in no way align to the project, no real understanding of the market they're working in and therefore unable to advise or support a team of skilled individuals. Frequently absent. Most of the emails I got from my line manager were things they'd forwarded saying 'fyi'. Never set any actual goals or anything to work towards, I would set my own targets (which is far from ideal - I want to be challenged!). Workload issues are consistent across the entire business - everyone is expected to pick up 3-4 full time employees worth of work. They'll tell you they value work life balance in one breath and will send you emails at 11pm, asking why you didn't reply to it at 6am in the next breath. Asking for additional support - even when you stress the business needs outside of just personal ones - is met with 'yeah, well do that' and it never materialises. As a team of one, I was told for a year I'd get extra help that never materialised, and somehow they were still surprised when I left. The lack of resource across the board impacts everyone's ability to do their job - products go out late or not at all, stuff gets lost often - management always gets the product to the big suppliers (and will happily poach from other, smaller businesses orders) with a snap of their fingers while other businesses wait 12+ months for a product they'd paid for to arrive - and when it does arrive, it's crushed beyond repair. The product itself has really lowered in quality too - they're really proud of their high speed to market for products but this has naturally set a precedent where paintwork is shoddy, figures don't stand up, or sculpts are just plain lazy (hello repaints of the same design x8). Honestly, the whole thing is just a mess. I really, really wanted to make it work for me, as did many others, but they're going through another mass exodus currently because there's only so much people can take. At the point that I realised this job was actually making me unwell, I started looking. No job should be like that. Not long before I left, people just kept 'disappearing'; whenever an explanation was asked for, a blatant lie was told. If you're going to fire someone, be honest about it and don't pretend it was a mutual decision between both parties. Constantly walking on egg shells, knowing if you make a suggestion management doesn't like you could be out the door without any notice before you know it. And of course, the classic one - no perks. Good luck getting time in lieu back. Good luck getting free or discounted product. Good luck getting Christmas off (even if the US does). Good luck getting any benefits whatsoever.