Vantaggi
Salaries (but only for contract agents and officials) 35 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays and additional time when the commission is closed e.g. the entire month of August Relaxed attitude towards office presence and work from home
Svantaggi
Arrogant and superior attitude towards junior staff Overall degrading experience as a working professional coming from the private sector with substantial work history and skills No respect towards working professionals coming from a different field rather than political science/international relations Huge cost cuts in hiring (on demand by the Member States) and therefore limited job opportunities Jump on demand: constant brown-nosing and desperate “pushing” by junior staff to grant them a short-term contract extension. Don’t do it, the dragging along is disgusting and you will not be able to plan your life long-term Low energies and productivity level, general atmosphere is to avoid actual work and all they do is drink coffee and write emails to sort out their own internal processes Pro-activity and high work ethics are frowned upon Colleagues are very work shy Colleagues complaint when projects were executed and required additional work hours, which are normal in private sector The colleagues are not professionals in their respective fields but more than often “project managers” with a limited skill set. Frustrating and often chaotic execution. Unprofessional Team Leader/advisors will not know what a development plan is Majority of people are political scientists or have studied international relations at LSE/College of Europe and are too arrogant to expand their horizons. They are resistant to fresh, new ideas and have very closed minds. Level of English of some colleagues is desirable Run down offices, old, carpet, one water fountain for the entire building, small kitchens are a catastrophe Overpriced canteen and low quality food, no discounts for trainees/interimaires They do not produce any work themselves, they “handle” external contractors for executing the projects Very bureaucratic, it is not allowed to make own decisions and you have to ask permission to actually breath Degrading attitude, arrogance and low work moral/ethics yet constant pressure to stay in the EU institutions Hire only if a position is available and you have to undergo an IQ test which is based on your ability to fast clicking and not on your actual competence & work experience The preparation books for the IQ test cost 200 EUR Colleagues regularly abuse the generous annual leave/childcare allowance and some can’t even work a single full work week without taking time off Long work hours until 6pm When work from home, you’re often just “on call” rather than given tasks Life/People who do not work at the EU Institutions do “not exist” You get completely consumed by the EU Commission and the daily dramas, there is little time to actually switch off and get emotionally a distance to it