1) Gensler's design studio is a machine. It churns out work like it's a production studio, rather than a design leader. Therefore, a lot of the work is very stale and becomes just cheap copies of what's already been done. 2) People are overworked and overbooked very quickly so burn out is common. PTO time is accrued and is combined with sick time. It is a stupid and archaic policy that should be changed with the times, but like so much with Gensler, will remain in place and be inflexible. 3) The New York office is exceedingly political; if you don't play the game, you won't get ahead. People on the surface seem to care about your growth, with the joke that is the PDP program, but it is really a dog eat dog environment. There is no system in place to help newer team members get more familiar with the work or forgiveness when mistakes are made. 4) The hours system. Instead of being work being deadline based, hours are taken too seriously here, to the detriment of the work. Hours are what make PMs happy and it informs the work you do here; things are made doubly stressful. If you go over a certain number, it is flagged. If you do not produce enough in a certain number, it is flagged. These numbers determine the quality of the work. 5) Gensler's management is tone deaf to the change in work environment. The force to work four days a week in the office, for the sake of "culture", is ridiculous. Gensler is self-proclaimed to be a "People first" company, but without actually putting people's interest or well-being first, is hypocritical. It is "profit first", merely a ploy for management of the company to feel good about themselves; for their connections on Linkedin or other PR sites to praise them for getting past Covid.
