Pressure from the top makes everyone's lives worse - Senior Consultant Leidos Employee Review

2.0
1 Feb 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They have reasonable benefits (medical, dental, vision, STD, LTD, life insurance) and pay a decent wage. When I was interviewing, I had three offers on the table, and their starting salary was very competitive.

Cons

The company is under a lot of pressure from the top to keep our billable hours high and costs low. I get it. That's how they make money. However, it means that the annual trips/conventions have completely ceased. My billable time and PTO is constantly under scrutiny. The joy of working is completely gone because I spend so much of my time trying to decipher and comply with company policies that are always changing. I liked the idea of working for Vitalize (one of the companies that existed before the merger/spinoff) because it was "smaller." Everyone knew everyone and if you needed help with anything, you knew who to call. Now, you e-mail a pool of people. I rarely get responses to my questions and when I have issues I have to send 2, 3, sometimes 4 emails to the pool to get a simple "Sue, can you look into this for Bob?" Not even an answer. With all the pressure coming from the top that our billable hours need to be higher, I feel like the company must be in trouble. The merger didn't fair well and I think the small firms that are able to keep their employees happy will start surpassing Leidos (and in some cases, already have).

Explore other reviews about Leidos

5.0
15 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture, supportive management, encouragement for self development

Cons

Some decisions move too slowly.

3.0
27 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Leidos provides opportunities to work on complex government programs with meaningful technical challenges. Depending on the contract and team, there can be exposure to cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, systems engineering, networking, and mission-focused work that is difficult to find elsewhere. The company also has a large footprint, so there may be internal opportunities for people who are able to navigate the organization.

Cons

My experience was that the quality of management varied significantly by program. Communication around expectations, roles, and priorities was often inconsistent, and decisions that affected employees were not always explained clearly or handled in a transparent way. Work-life balance also depended heavily on local management. Flexibility that existed in practice could be changed quickly, and employees were sometimes left trying to reconcile changing expectations with existing workloads and personal obligations. In my view, the company would benefit from stronger oversight of program-level management decisions, especially where employee responsibilities, workplace flexibility, and performance feedback are concerned. I also found that technical decision-making was sometimes driven more by schedule pressure than by sound engineering judgment. On complex government programs, that can create unnecessary risk and frustration for employees who are trying to do things correctly.

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