"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" - Anonymous employee Brooks Running Employee Review

3.0
Oct 6, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Extremely social company. Everyone knows each other and there is a familial sense to the work culture. Lots of free/heavily discounted product. Liberal expense accounts. They want the brand to look good and for the employees to be happy. Luckily very few employees abuse this system so it remains flexible. Tons of opportunities to travel around the country. Brooks sponsors hundreds if not thousands of runs (5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon) and likes employees to represent the company at these events. All expenses paid. Brand new corporate headquarters.

Cons

For a company that is posting its best years every recorded the pay for the base level employee (requiring a college degree and experience) salary is almost unlivable. At that the base level employees are not treated with much respect. Salary does not improve much as you go up the ladder until you reach top tier upper management. In many cases,within the first 2 years of employment you are likely to be promoted or cemented in that position until you resign. It depends largely upon your goals are and what the next level up thinks of you (personally).

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5.0
Jun 16, 2026
Anonymous contractor
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- excellent employee perks - gorgeous HQ office buildings with amenities - free lunch - supportive and passionate team members

Cons

- parking is not free for employees, but there are commuter benefits to offset that

2.0
Jun 7, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

PTO and benefits are good. There is free lunch and an onsite gym. Employees are encouraged to run and stay active, with office next to the Burke-Gilman running trail.

Cons

The culture is presented as fun and healthy but in reality it is fairly toxic within specific departments and feels very “high school”. It is also very hierarchical with lots of corporate bureaucracy. The company caters more to middle and upper level management, so expect limited growth and development opportunities. Unclear, constantly changing expectations and overlapping job roles are a common theme. Leadership is not held accountable within the organization. People who play the game and assimilate to the culture are rewarded and perpetuate the status quo way of doing things. This leads to a lack of diversity in thought but also diversity in general especially at the leadership level. There is an added complexity to everything that makes even the most simple work difficult. Everyone is overwhelmed by too many meetings and yet there is not a lot of cross-functional collaboration, as all of the teams work in silos and compete for resources. The company is trying to become a more global, but there are a lot of growing pains associated with this. For a growing company with headquarters in a location like Seattle, the pay is low and not competitive enough to attract and retain top talent. The office buildings also face local area constraints like expensive parking which is passed on to the employee. The company incentivizes alternative transportation but it can be difficult to figure out the best way to get to work. There has been reduced flexibility to work from home with more emphasis put on being in the office.

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