Work environment they deliver isn't the one they sell
Pros
The company looks to hire mainly young people. Petroleum industry experience isn't always necessary to get a position. For someone's first job right out of college the compensation isn't bad.
Cons
The company sells a "team" environment but in reality is anything but. When there are problems, one divisional Senior VP walks around bellowing, "Who's to blame??? There's ALWAYS somebody to blame!!!!" Team is only team when things are going well, when things start going bad fingers get pointed (usually behind people's backs) and people just start looking to throw others under the bus. Formal training is non-existent. All training is 100% OJT, and if you don't "get it" the first time you are told, you are considered stupid and untrainable. The company does not believe in a work-life balance. They expect salaried employees to be "all Global, all the time." I work 7 days/week, 365 days/year (yes, including holidays). I put in about 65 hours/week. Every week. My "official" hours are 8:30 - 5:00 but my boss expects me at my desk from 7:00 - 6:30 M-F. Weekends can be anywhere from 4 to 6 hours each day. My salary wouldn't be bad (but certainly not good) for 40 hours/week, but at 65 hours/week it isn't much. We often receive emails on Friday evenings after we have left the office with substantial projects that need to be delivered by 9:00am Monday morning. Raises are below moderate (I believe the proper term would be "insulting") although there are bonuses. It is not unusual to hear managers absolutely screaming at employees, swearing, berating them, and dressing them up and down right on the floor (open floor plan, no cubicle walls and managers don't have private offices) in front of everybody. It can be a very hostile work environment. Not surprisingly this environment prompts a lot of "self-medicating" after work. I went from not drinking at all when I joined the company to just looking forward to getting home and drinking a six-pack. Opportunities for advancement are almost non-existent. I have not seen one internal promotion to a senior management position. All new senior managers have been hired from outside the company. Because the workforce is so young, and mid-level managers are never promoted to senior managers, there is almost no room for advancement. With annual raises so low, this means that opportunities for career growth and income growth are both close to zero. Good employees leave (the company has a turnover rate of almost 75% annually, but this does include store/retail employees) as this is the only opportunity for a promotion. Unfortunately when employees leave, many times they are not replaced or it takes the company 9 to 12 months to hire a replacement. This increases the work load on other employees, prompting them to leave, as well. It is a vicious cycle and senior/divisional management doesn't care. Bad managers/supervisors are not removed from their positions even though the high turnover rate in certain departments (and the accompanying HR complaints) clearly indicates problems. Good managers/supervisors leave because they see the institutional favoritism and internal politics and realize they will never get anywhere.
