Pay and benefits were great, culture was extremely lacking - Graphic Designer L.L. Bean Employee Review

2.0
Apr 12, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay and benefits are great, access to the employee store ($12 bean boots!), and it's a large company with a lot of perks - a nurse to adjust your work station, etc. - a robust workforce to help you.

Cons

You were pigeon-holed into doing just your silo of work; collaboration was non-existent if you weren't a manager. The different departments fought with each other instead of being one cohesive team. Generally, I felt like I was walking on eggshells all the time. People were combative, defensive, and overall anxious. I saw 2 rounds of layoffs in my short time there; including a friend who was on the verge of retiring. Everyone seems afraid to speak up because they're afraid to be fired. And therefore, a lot of people are very sensitive to any new ideas, which read as criticism. Everyone's obsessed with looking good instead of actually doing good work. The work environment was awful too; rows and rows and rows of beige cubicles with no natural light. It was very depressing. And it didn't help the lack of collaboration. There was also a lot of micromanagement. And a ton of disorganization, which everyone complained about. My onboarding , for instance, was terrible - I was taken on as a temp for a 6 month contract and when that ended, there was no notice about if I would stay or not; they strung me along, saying they would keep me if they could. I finally got offered a permanent position, but then when I declined another job offer, they said jk, we can't offer you a permanent position here. I made enough of a fuss that eventually I was actually taken on full time, but it took a lot of pushing. Other than the pay and benefits, you're treated like crap. And so morale is very, very low. Everyone complains about how dysfunctional it is, but no one wants to go against the grain to find solutions. If you're a person who's interested in getting paid a lot to be a doormat, this place is for you. Confrontation or discussion was discouraged at all costs. Leadership were sequestered in their own wing, and there's so much middle management and red tape that it's impossible to get anything actually accomplished. There was also a huge age gap, where young people just did not last. Between the "millennial bashing", refusing to listen to new ideas, reluctance to use technology more efficiently - it was a hostile environment if you had

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5.0
Jul 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

good management, breaks, healthy team environment

Cons

low pay, required to push company credit card to customers

5.0
Jun 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Flexible - Access to company benefits even as part-time - Fun - Good management - Enjoyable work - Good pay - Good co-workers - Good work environment

Cons

I have nothing negative to say about my experience here.

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