CareerERA: Are you proud of the company you work for? What factors will make you proud?

[rokkerkory]

Serious question. You don't have to state which company you work for. This is more a philosophical question.

To me a company / job has to be much more than just the pay and the responsibilities given to you. Key factors for me are: overall mission of the company, the impact it makes on the world / customers, how it treats its employees in terms of diversity, fairness, compensation, opportunities, empowerment, giving back to community, people you work with, etc.

I've been with my current company for a long time (10+ years), when there were ample opportunities to jump to other companies, I just can't find another company that provides the overall package. I count myself as blessed and lucky in many ways, especially proud that one of the things my company emphasizes is giving back.

They give every employee a full week's (40 hrs) of paid time for volunteering work each year. That could mean spending time mentoring kids, work at food bank, food kitchen, etc. We also have emphasis on hiring military vets, there is a big program for that and I have been able to hire a female army vet (10 years of service) to my team. She brings such great perspective and experience. Also, our ELT team is diverse in age, ethnicity and also gender with 50% being women.

Are you proud of the company you work for? What factors will make you proud?

 

[lasthope106]

No. 0.

 

[BDS]

I do grunt IT work for a government defense contractor so no, they aren't really making a positive impact on the world.

 

[BringBackSonics]

I'm proud of my company that I work for, We are always in those 'Best Places to Work' 'A+ diversity' 'Good Work/life balance' etc

The Pay is mid/upper tier for similar work. The Benefits are great. Lots of educational/training for free within the Company Learning Website. Scholarships, Tuition Assistance. Child Bonding, Great Insurance/Dental, Great PTO, Matching retirement etc. Good mission and values and how everything is geared to the member experience.

Its philanthropic efforts are pretty top notch, sending funds and volunteers through all the regions that they operate that coincide with their value set. Also giving grants to employees who volunteer at non-profits (Which I've recieved two such grants for my philanthropic efforts)

Our Company has been one of the top companies in the nation in regards to Diversity. I See it daily.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

Nope. My work is unimportant and on some levels supports ultrawealthy corporations and people destroying the planet. Once I'm done worrying about supporting my kids, I plan to go back to school and head in a more meaningful direction (therapy).

 

[Seductivpancakes]

Somewhat. Pay is decent for NYC. A lot of overtime, which I don't mind cause it's time and half after 8 hours.

It's no Google but the company takes care of it's employees. Birthday parties, summer BBQs, company retreats, etc.


Don't plan on staying long term tho. Gonna save up and wait for opportunities, then moving on to set work.

 

[Deleted member 4274]

I don't care one bit. As long as the company doesn't profit off death, slavery or war, I'm fine. As long as these niggas pay me what I'm worth.

 

[Deleted member 54320]

Yep.

The people I work with over in the UK office are great and they love what they do. I have no complaints.

 

[Chopchop]

Your job sounds like a unicorn. Most people are lucky if they get a job that doesn't have some component that they loathe, much less anything else you mentioned. If they get a job at all. Wanting a job that doesn't just pay well and give good benefits, but also does all those other things is extremely, extremely rare. It's hard enough to just find work on its own. Most people don't have the luxury of wanting those things when they're looking for work.

I just changed jobs and it's okay I guess? The pay is decent, nothing about the job annoys me, and we design science research equipment, so the work seems productive. I have no idea about all the other stuff.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

 

[DJ_Lae]

Sure - if not my job directly then the rest of the company, absolutely. We treat and cure people and save lives.

 

[Vish]

I work for a good company. I just wish I didn't listen to others because I don't want to be an engineer. But now I have student loans so...oh well.

 

[LosDaddie]

Absolutely

Engineering firm with a great benefits package, an understanding of work/life balance, and they encourage professional development of their employees. Also, they pay all dues for membership in engineering clubs.

It's a good company to work for.

 

[Deleted member 41178]

I love my job, but it's the least diverse place I've ever worked. Money is always the bottom line, both ours and the clients.

We don't give anything back to the community, but the pay and benefits for the staff are fantastic and that's what's kept me there for 10+ years. It can be pretty cut throat, so if you or your team/department isn't performing cuts usually come pretty swiftly as we operate pretty lean.

 

[Aranjah]

In my day-to-day job I work for a smallish dev studio, and I'm proud of what my team members and I accomplish with our products despite the best efforts of management. If they wanted to make me proud of the studio as a whole, management would step aside, just manage the money and contracts, and let the people who know what they're doing make the product design decisions.

Technically the company I actually "work for", i.e. the ones whose names are on my paycheck, is a giant, international contractor company and they are in kinda "I don't think about you at all" territory. I don't feel any kind of pride or anything, but I don't hate them either. It's the actual dev studio I feel any loyalty to and feel like a part of. I'm not sure there's much they could do to change this. Maybe give us better benefits and more holiday time and more free company swag like one of the subcontracting companies does? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Kain]

God no, no, no, no, no. No.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Yes. It's by far the best place I've ever worked at--good pay, great benefits and amenities, and opportunity for career growth. I love that I get to work with some of the best people in my industry and that there's a real focus on employee advancement and well being. Being here, I can tell why this company has been around for so long and why it's an industry leader.

And at the end of the day, my job is to make fun games that people enjoy.

 

[Rad Bandolar]

The only company I've ever been proud of is the one I own.

The thing with corporate/professional jobs is that they're ultimately all transactional. There's been a growing trend in the corporate world toward viewing the employer as some kind of beneficent club that bestows great rewards upon those who work the hardest, dedicate the most time, and really believe in the cult's company's mission (spend any amount of time on LinkedIn to see this disturbing trend in full bloom). But you're just trading your time and labor for a fractional amount of the company's profits.

They might have a great benefits package. For now. They might provide a great work/life balance. For now. You might have great management. For now. But at some point, there will be a change in leadership. At some point, there will be pressure to increase shareholder value. At some point, there will be a need to cut costs.

It's all transient, and the biggest lesson to learn is that even when you're working for someone else, you need to be in business for yourself. When you're young and just entering the workforce, it's easy to get buffaloed by the slick packaging and internal PR. You're grateful just to have a job where you don't have to wear a name tag and finally have decent health insurance. Eventually, the sheen wears off, you go through a few layoffs or get promoted into management and learn how the sausage is made. And you either grow risk averse and cynical, or you learn that the only metric that matters is whether you're getting what you want out of it. A company, a job, merely exists as a means for you to accomplish your own personal goals.

Once you re-orient yourself toward pursuing your own agenda, and using your jobs as a means to achieve your goals, you're essentially in business for yourself. Which is the way it should be.

 

[A Wild Shark Appears]

I work for Wal-Mart

Spoiler

no

 

[infinitebento]

Yes

I work for a family in Alaska that owns one of the top lodges in all of the state. They've owned it for 30+ years, have banned hunting at their lodges so wildlife can return, they utilize as much Alaskan ingredients as possible for all aspects of their company, they support local artists/fisherman/farmers, they avidly are working on ways to reduce their carbon footprint and be as sustainable as possible, they work alongside National Geographic to ensure they are able to keep track of their global impact and can set an example for other lodges in the state, and they are so heavily involved with the local communities that damn near everyone here knows this family.

Its incredibly inspiring working for such a unique company that cares so deeply for their home and the planet. I'm nothing but honored to be their pastry chef and help however I can to make a difference here.

 

[Akronis]

Can't complain at all. They gave me a foot in the door with no college degree and now 4 years in I can work from home as much as I want, have 35 days of PTO, and the pay is incredible at 25.

 

[julia crawford]

Planning on leaving but we chill. It's a very good place and the work is demanding but always human. The product we work on is rather ok i think, it's one of those small things that makes companies work more easily and comfortably and doesn't steal anyone any jobs. It's technically very interesting too. Learning a lot and really happy to have had the chance to work here.

But it's just too small. I've got to be with more people daily or my head starts going bad.

 

[Acinixys]

I would say it's 50/50

I work for the biggest retailer in Africa, and they have hundreds of community out reach programs, and try and get disadvantaged young people into management positions through their extensive work programs

The pay is great, and I enjoy the job

My only real issue is that there is so little black representation in upper management

All the top brass are white.The CEO, COO and CFO, plus their deputies, are all 45+ white dudes

But 85% of the staff are black, and maybe 20% of regional managers

I can see the change happening to give more young black people opportunity in the company, but it's way too slow IMO

They recently hired 2 black guys in my department, but it was only because they were mandated to by HR

 

[Deleted member 13328]

I'm actually quite proud, since the impact we have on the climate is positive. And the company really takes good care of their employees.

So great place actually.

 

[Deleted member 6263]

Very much so, especially after working a cubicle corporate job. It's a local company and, while it's not saving lives or anything, it's good people with good hearts, the work isn't stressful, and they pay well enough that I'm not stressing out about day-to-day stuff.

Edit:

They give every employee a full week's (40 hrs) of paid time for volunteering work each year. That could mean spending time mentoring kids, work at food bank, food kitchen, etc.

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This is really cool!

 

[Seductivpancakes]

Yes

I work for a family in Alaska that owns one of the top lodges in all of the state. They've owned it for 30+ years, have banned hunting at their lodges so wildlife can return, they utilize as much Alaskan ingredients as possible for all aspects of their company, they support local artists/fisherman/farmers, they avidly are working on ways to reduce their carbon footprint and be as sustainable as possible, they work alongside National Geographic to ensure they are able to keep track of their global impact and can set an example for other lodges in the state, and they are so heavily involved with the local communities that damn near everyone here knows this family.

Its incredibly inspiring working for such a unique company that cares so deeply for their home and the planet. I'm nothing but honored to be their pastry chef and help however I can to make a difference here.

Click to shrink...

Dang that sounds cool.

 

[Dyle]

I work for a non-profit museum that does some cool stuff, so definitely. Unfortunately the bean counters at our other location have trimmed back some of the neat little perks that made this place feel like a tighter community, but there's still a lot of nice benefits that ensure we're on the right track. Probably most importantly leadership has been very open to improving and has made a priority of improving accessibility for guests and updating our programming to be more inclusive and fully representative of our history, though I think some of that stuff is still a ways off from full implementation. At the very least the work we've been doing with our landscaping crew building new trails for the public and with our local organic farmers is great.

That being said I'm probably more proud of working here than I am happy to work here, if that makes sense. But I think that's pretty common in the museum field, for better or for worse

 

[The Albatross]

Yes. We do good stuff, we're a private company, treats our employees well and our software is in a lot of incredible applications that make the world a better place.

 

[tsmoreau]

Yeah for sure.

I work for a legal aid non profit and while it's an administrative nightmare the people do good work and the pay is alright.

I've worked for mostly non profits for a reason, and it's cause I can usually feel good about what the company I work for does.

 

[AGoodODST]

I certainly approve of the big focus of environmental impact, LGBTQ rights, mental health awareness, promoting women in work and inclusivity in general for employees.

I was genuinely surprised and impressed by how big a thing it was and how much they do when I started.

 

[rokkerkory]

Your job sounds like a unicorn. Most people are lucky if they get a job that doesn't have some component that they loathe, much less anything else you mentioned. If they get a job at all. Wanting a job that doesn't just pay well and give good benefits, but also does all those other things is extremely, extremely rare. It's hard enough to just find work on its own. Most people don't have the luxury of wanting those things when they're looking for work.

I just changed jobs and it's okay I guess? The pay is decent, nothing about the job annoys me, and we design science research equipment, so the work seems productive. I have no idea about all the other stuff.

Click to shrink...

I do absolutely consider myself blessed and lucky so I try to take full advantage of it. When others around me aren't as lucky with similar opportunities, I try not to bitch and moan.

This week, a few interns are joining from around the country. It's a great time as we get to share our culture and work with the next generation and help mentor them as they start to approach corporate life.

 

[Chopchop]

I do absolutely consider myself blessed and lucky so I try to take full advantage of it. When others around me aren't as lucky with similar opportunities, I try to to bitch and moan.

This week, a few interns are joining from around the country. It's a great time as we get to share our culture and work with the next generation and help mentor them as they start to approach corporate life.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it sounds like a great place. Definitely a place to stay.

 

[sgtnosboss]

no. I would be if they took a hard stance on net neutrality and if they upgraded rural infrastructure, but they will not do either.

 

[Moist_Owlet]

I'm not because corporate america will shitcan me the second I become unprofitable. Why hold any sort of loyalty or respect when those feelings are not reciprocal? Merely being not shitty doesn't earn any respect from me.

 

[Gwarm]

I work for a non-profit that does a lot of good in the community, and feel that my work has a direct impact on the people we serve. No job is perfect, but I definitely feel a sense of pride about mine.