The Hartford reviews

Ignore the bogus 5-star reviews. This company is toxic. New "bonus" program actively pits you against your co-workers. Morale is worse today than anywhere I have ever worked (opposite of 10 years ago at Hartford). Management at all levels above field manager are uninspiring and only concerned with job security. Low morale somehow becomes our fault for not drinking the Kool aid. Metrics have nothing to do with helping insureds or our underwriters. Risk engineering management insists that their systems are amazing despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

There is NO empowerment -- from specialists to AVP level. Leaders are involved in EVERYTHING which comes across as micro-management and leaves direct reports and the employees underneath them to feel that they aren't trusted or that their expertise isn't valued or appreciated. There's a lot of favoritism and internal politics. My executive leader was a bully and people within my organization functioned out of fear. The Hartford is the epitome of "too many cooks in the kitchen." In an effort to be more collaborative EVERYONE'S opinion is solicited (whether they are involved in your project or not) which ends up paralyzing the process, prolonging any kind of progress and ultimately makes you feel incredibly frustrated. It's the most passive / aggressive culture I've ever experienced built primarily on "WHO" you know versus "WHAT" you know. Any skills that made you an attractive candidate no longer exist once you get in the door. You must "prove" yourself to your leadership... and it takes a LONG TIME for that to happen. So if you think you're going to make an immediate impact and be recognized / or promoted for it, you can forget it. There is an obsessive focus on hiring millennials... that's all HR hears about. And finally, there is a lot of talk about flexible and remote work during the hiring process -- they've even received external recognition for it. However, what they really mean is that flexible work is afforded to the field agents or "road warriors" who need to be remote due to the nature of their work. If you work in a corporate location, there is no belief in flexible work -- although, admittedly, it also depends on your manager and leadership. You'll hear a lot of employees say "we talk about doing that, but we don't really believe in it." Many of the executive leadership have the old school mentality of "butts in seats." I know someone who was promised (during the interview process) the ability to work remote a couple days a week only to feel such pressure once they started that they really felt they couldn't. Also, due to new labor law changes, many salaried employees were changed to hourly and told they could no longer work from home one day a week. I saw a lot of really good colleagues leave within 1-2 years of being hired because they were disappointed with the culture / opportunity they experienced once they were in the door. I suspect that new employees are recruited by a very competitive offer and relocated to Hartford, CT with a repay agreement of 12 months. So, I would be interested in knowing how many employees have left in the 1-2 year range versus the typical year or less range. I feel like the people who love working here are the ones who have been with The Hartford for many years. Whereas the "fresh off the street" talent come in and find that a lot of empty promises were made during the interview process. Everything looks contemporary and glossy, but if you peak under the covers, you'll find old and stodgy. In all, not worth the generous compensation or benefits.