Looking to the Future with Feet Firmly in the Past
Pros
Employees are afforded plenty of overtime if desired. The swing shift allows for a decent balance of life and work. The pay is certainly competitive for the area (see Cons)
Cons
Firstly, it is true that the starting pay is competitive, however the talent acquisition folks were very transparent in regards to bonuses and pay increases; in summation, they do NOT offer bonuses nor do they increase wages. This, as explained by HR, is due to the traditional Korean work culture under which the company labors. Due to this, your singular motivation is to simply work so that you will not be fired. Secondly, the plant is completely devoid of structure and leadership. While it’s true, this plant is on the cutting edge of manufacturing technology, there seems to be no leadership guiding the stewards of that technology to success. Furthermore, no policy handbook has been written or distributed so rules are ambiguous or downright nonexistent. Lastly, during your orientation you will be given advance notice regarding certain cultural differences that exist within the organization. It is, in fact, a Korean company and the work culture as a whole reflects this fact. That culture largely stands at odds with the generalized culture of American manufacturing in the Southeast, resulting in a shaky “us-versus-them” attitude that seems to permeate a great portion of the production workforce. All of this conjures a simple adjective: toxic.
