Looks good from outside - be careful before signing on - Anonymous employee Fossil Group Employee Review

1.0
Jul 11, 2008
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employees get discounts on watches and accessories. The dress code is very casual. You can wear jeans, flip flops, baseball caps. The office decor is modern and appealing to the eye.

Cons

Fossil is very rigid in its processes and methods of performing daily tasks. It seems there is a lot of "check the box" mentality. People seem to hesitate to think outside of the day to day. When something outside of normal day to day responsibilities occurs, it seems to either always be a huge chaotic event or brushed under the carpet and ignored. It doesn't seem that employees are rewarded for identifying ways to improve processes or approach things in a different manner. In fact, at times they are penalized for that. As a retail company that tries to implement creativity in its products, it should permeiate throughout the organization. However, at least certain groups are too rigid in areas such as work/life flexibility, appreciating differences in work styles and personalities, day to day routine, and even strict work hours. (All full time employees must be in their seat with their computer running by 9 am without exception.) The physical work environment is very open - few offices. There are large "bull pens" of cubicles. At first, it seems that this would embrace the creativity that this type of company should foster. However, it seems to be more of a way of being "big brother" to employees.

Explore other reviews about Fossil Group

5.0
Jun 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Was a good work environment. Wasn't too stressful.

Cons

Horrible repetitive music. Working during holidays was a mad house.

2.0
Jul 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company events are always fun. (Halloween is insane in the best way.) On-site gym, Starbucks, cafeteria with pretty good food. The employee sales and deep-discounts are really nice. Central Station is a really nice, pretty building with a parking garage.

Cons

Lots of micromanagement and unnecessary approval steps before anything can move forward; resulting in any changes moving at a glacial pace and often stalling for months and even years. Fossil manages and designs by committee and the HiPPO in the room always wins with little regard to facts and data. There's little communication at all levels of the company. Teams are extremely siloed and there's a complete lack of direction. It's also not unusual for leadership or stakeholders to flip-flop on their decisions. One meeting, they'll approve something; then turn around and claim they never saw or approved it. Then suddenly they liked the way it was, which they had been claiming never to have seen before. It's frustrating and defeating. Advancement and growth opportunities are very limited and often based on favoritism. There's almost zero recognition or metrics to demonstrate your worth. "Restructuring" and staff reductions happen regularly throughout the year and always in small batches to fly under the WARN act. They usually don't even acknowledge or comment on the layoffs internally either. It's as if they hope they did it quietly enough that no one will notice. Meanwhile, morale is practically nonexistent as everyone is always waiting for the next layoff and spends most of their time with their heads down. If they acknowledge the layoffs at all, they'll assure the company that they're "right-sized now" or that they're "done with layoffs" and then do it again.

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