Southwest Airlines reviews

3.9

73% would recommend to a friend

(5,206 total reviews)
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Robert E. Jordan

51% approve of CEO

52% positive business outlook

Southwest Airlines has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 5,206 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Southwest Airlines employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Transportation & Logistics industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

5K reviews
2.0
Oct 28, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Maybe I drank the Kool-Aid, but deep down in my heart I still believe that Southwest is a good company. The benefits package is awesome. The company, on a whole, still believes in "feel good company culture" activities. Time on (working a schedule so you have every other Friday off) is definitely appreciated.

Cons

Soooo...yeah, then there's the Technology department. Leadership often does not listen, value, or respect the opinions/ideas/thoughts of the individual contributors on their teams. Leadership often talks about being "transparent", and stresses the value of "communication", but those are just the latest HR buzzwords and there is no true action behind those words. There is definitely a good ole boy network within the management structure in Technology at Southwest, and if you're not "in with the clique", then you're going to have a difficult time. There are a number of highly skilled people within Technology who are seriously being underutilized and overworked. This company is still operating as if it is a small airline, but it's not, so people are working ridiculous hours IN THE OFFICE and the work life balance is quickly flying out of the window. Management does not seem to appreciate the number of hours their staff puts in to ensure stability within Technology. Then you have the "lifers" - those that know that better exists outside of SWA, but they've invested so much time here that it's more beneficial for them to stay until retirement. Couple the rampant politics and selfish leadership with the lack of 21st century "amenities" for technology employees (working remotely, up to date technology, decent pay) and you have a recipe for disaster. It's only a matter of time.

3.0
May 2, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits Profit Sharing 401k Match Brand Awareness People spend a ton of time socializing and having“fun” - if that appeals to you Flexible schedule You can fly for free if you don’t mind the standby gamble Inspiring CEO From a customer perspective, they always do the right thing and go above and beyond

Cons

Tenure valued over competency Hired for “fun loving attitude” over ability to do the job/be a top performer Underperforming senior leaders are not held accountable Critical feedback goes seemingly unnoticed and unactioned Typical to have 3-4 Directors per year Senior Leaders are treated as generalists and given responsibility in areas for which they are unqualified and often disinterested Focus on fun leads to organizational laziness and mediocre performance Low performers are passed along versus being performance managed The morale of the headquarters facility is very low with the exception of the college hires No growth path for HiPo talent and no retention strategy Large scale organizational changes are frequent, communicated poorly and generally unsuccessful People pretend to like one another and use that to promote “a world class culture.” Its no different than anywhere else. The politics, while present in all organizations, are especially rampant here Roles are often changed without consulting the affected employees in advance. Different pay scales for the same role exist throughout the company. Often times a decrease in pay must be accepted in order to make a lateral move to a different area Preselection of candidates is the norm yet full interview processes take place wasting the time and energy of candidates. Word gets out frequently about who has gotten a role before the job itself has even been posted Spans and layers are wildly different. Managers running director level scope and vice versa is not uncommon (spans and layers issue)

4.0
Jul 18, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent 401K matching program for employees

Cons

Don't place a premium on education, so your college degrees won't hold much weight. No tuition reimbursement for employees seeking to advance their education.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 5,206 Reviews

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