Perhaps I'm wrong, but I would say that there are very few people who can be satisfied with the culture as it is today at Cisco. The atmosphere is so toxic that I can't wait to leave, and I will gladly accept a lower paying job just to get out and forget about this place. Why is the culture here getting worse and worse?
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Unfortunately our company is topless.
Getting LR'd was probably one of the biggest blessings of life, now five years ago.
- Got a nice eight months or so of pay.
- Had a better paying job lined up, the day after finally turning my Cisco PC in.
- Worked various jobs post LR, now semi-retired. Do three days a week, part time IT.
My ex Cisco co-workers in same overall fortunate scenario, now all 55+, lots of experience, and can pretty much do as we wish. We still work, but either contractors or part time.
Hope those staying get the same payout if LR'd, but sounds like it is no longer in the cards.
Cisco is a company that sells & markets legacy network equipment. The culture was designed to financially reward Directors & above. Leave if you don't like the toxic culture at lower levels... it's intended to be toxic to encourage attrition
Here are the options for OP and other unsatisfied folks at Cisco:
- If you don't like it here, just go away.
- If you are too "old" to be hired by another employer, just hang on till you retire.
- If #2 above is not possible, then just quit. Move to a cheap state and become a subsistence farmer and live off-grid till death.
The above was paid for by Cisco HR. BTW, no LR this year. Yeaaaaah!
@1qtl+1iRPQOEV Your advice is ok when your age 45 or younger but once you reach your late 40's and beyond there is very noticeable decline in potential employer's interest in you. What do you think it is like trying to get a job when you are 60+, regardless or your abilities and experience?
It seems to me that maybe very few people post the same toxic posts here for quite a long time as they have a personal vendetta against Cisco. Cisco is a great company from many aspects, it’s far from being perfect but it’s a good employer which treat employees in a decent way. I have a suggestion for the person who continue obsessively to post those toxic post; let it go buddy!!!
Cisco hasn't valued technology leadership and innovation - which result in high tech employee satisfaction - for a decade. Anyone not realizing that fact has simply not been paying attention.
If those things are important to you, leave and go to a place that values those things.
I honestly think the work culture is great.
The problem is our technology is not market leading. We need a technologist not a math major as a leader. All the talk on how recurring revenue results in a stock valuation multiplier is complete nonsense. If you don't have technology that results in market share growth or creation of new markets, your valuation will decline regardless of the type of revenue.
This type of post is so very recurrent here at the Cisco thread. I sometimes check in other threads of Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Apple, VMware, Oracle, Alphabet, etc. but we don't really see this type of negative/hating-company post posted almost everyday like Cisco's.
The company's toxic culture is not just within the US offices, but other offices in Asia, Japan, and EMEA as well.
We are often asked to submit a survey like the Great Work Place survey, Qtrly Engagement Pulse survey, etc. There are so many surveys throughout the year indeed. But howsoever we answer and respond, Cisco's culture NEVER ever changes as long as current managers and leaders, especially those who have been staying at Cisco for over 20 years without having ever worked at outside Cisco, continue to remain at Cisco.
Those managers and leaders are the most significant source of its toxic culture.
However, HR's, VPs, Directors, Country Managers will NEVER try to remove those people, and they even respect those long-tenured employees in front of everyone and via email, and through stupid childish awards/rewards/recognitions. That's the fundamental prob.
Truly skilled professionals will soon leave Cisco because it's obviously not good for their career.
Just leave and live your life OP.
Narcissism and self serving politics by Directors and managers who set up their own fiefdoms. The directors and managers don’t contribute to any revenue generation and lives off the blood and sweat of the individual contributors. No wonder morale is do low. This is especially true among SE teams. No career graph after grade 10. If you are 12 or above then get ready to be managed out.