While compensation is fair, it is not competitive with other firms actively recruiting top talent. The company culture is positive in many respects; however, it can feel cliquish at times, with a tendency toward gossip that unfortunately seems to stem from leadership.
Work-life balance has also been a challenge. Given the firm’s heavy client load, the only apparent path to greater balance is by reducing both hours and pay. For a high-performing team member whose contributions were consistently critical to the team’s success, this feels misaligned with the value of my skills and experience.
True work-life balance should come from clear boundaries, efficient workload management, and a culture that genuinely supports well-being, not from requiring employees to sacrifice compensation in exchange for personal time. Framing this trade-off as flexibility feels more like a compromise than a solution.