Pros
Very stable. I am not aware of any mass layoffs that have become ubiquitous in industry today. Adequate benefits. No, they are not great. Simply adequate.
Cons
There is a reason for the fact that Paychex does not perform mass layoffs: the incredibly high rate of natural attrition puts Paychex is in a continuous hiring mode. The quintessential revolving door. So many people quit they do not ever have to lay people off. The pay is so far below industry standards that their pay scales do not even show up on most salary sites (salary.com, Dept. Of Labor, CareerBuilder.com). Many Paychex employees take the job only to avoid unemployment and then spend all their free time surreptitiously looking for a real job. I know that’s what I did. That’s certainly the same thing the other software developers did that also quit in my very short tenure at Paychex. I was there 10 months and 5 developers quit in that short time. I have never worked anyplace in which the demographics were so skewed away from middle age males. This is typically the largest demographic in most industry but the salary is so pathetic no middle age male could raise and support a family on this pittance. Promotion is based on longevity, not ability. The result is that the management is comprised of those people that have no motivation or qualifications to look for a “real” job so they muddle along mindlessly for years until a management job appears. They typically have no current skills or knowledge other than the small slice of work environment they have been resigned to. Nepotism runs rampant at Paychex. It is irrelevant that somebody may have extensive education and experience in dealing with the many problem areas in software development but that is roundly ignored. I have personally witnessed decisions on major architectural changes handed over to QA leads that happen to be personal pets of the current manager but do not posses even the most fundamental development skills. Paychex was definitely the most depressing place I ever worked. The vast majority of the people in the I.T. group I was in simply went through the motions on a daily basis with a total lack of work ethic and pride. Nobody felt it was worthwhile to help one another or pass on knowledge. It was considered a waste of time since the majority quit as soon as possible.