Breeding ground for corporate psychopaths
Pros
The level of resentment and low morale amongst staff is so high that you develop a great sense of camaraderie with certain people, but this is as much of a con as it is a pro.
Cons
NAB is the worst organisation I have ever worked for. Bullying, manipulation and favouritism are not only tolerated but encouraged by middle management, who spend more time discussing how you present yourself to other staff than about work itself. I was working for a new department undergoing constant restructure. At commencement we were told to be very vocal about changes we'd like to see implemented. "Great!" I thought, and made some suggestions for process and morale improvement. My team leader told me that I was being too negative and direct, so I decided to keep my head down and get work done instead. I was told that I wasn't presenting myself as being interested in the job, that I was at risk of being fired, and that working with me was like hitting one's head against a brick wall (the latter part of this sentence is what was told to me verbatim by my team leader at the time). All the while, I exceeded every one of my KPIs, took on an overwhelming amount of reporting work in addition to my regular role and was generally well liked my colleagues. I was declined for a promotion for "not being a team player". I was criticised by my various managers for the tone of my voice, my body language, the seat I chose in meetings and for coming to work two minutes late (once). This is an organisation where performance takes a back seat to your willingness to drink after work, talk about yourself publicly and repeat whichever buzzwords were used by the last EGM to visit your department.