While the working conditions at Optoro are not the worst you'll find, it is a lie to say they are ideal or even tolerable on some days, and definitely not what's being broadcasted to new hires and what many picture when working at a start up. I find it extremely corporate and greedy, in that they seek talent who they can use as a robot, ignoring or penalizing those who complain and finding ways to drain an employee of everything they can give and then refusing to help them find a comfortable work-life balance. The bottom line is whatever your manager asks of you, no matter how unrealistic or uninformed the opinion and decisions may be.
Optoro makes a fuss about employee engagement, but treats several different departments noticeably different than others. For half, you can start drinking at 3pm while others are penalized for the amount of time spent away from the desk.
There is no separation between the HR department and upper management. Complaints to HR can be assumed to be shared with everyone versus held in confidence, and it's often doubtful if the employees best interests are being taken to heart by anyone versus played towards a constant agenda hidden behind any interaction.
If you can grin and bear it, and are ok being criticized for not fitting a mold or for speaking up versus being robotic, you'll find a cool industry and some very intelligent hard workers. Otherwise it's important to know what you're signing up for.
