Pros

Throughout my career at Travelers, my co-workers have always been really talented, really great people and I felt it was a privilege to work with them. I was always proud of the work we did and proud of what we accomplished together.

Cons

The "new" Travelers culture introduced by Jay Fishman after the St. Paul merger is that nothing an employee can do is right, nothing an employee can do is ever enough, no result - no matter how great - is immune from "constructive" criticism, etc. In short, a truly toxic atmosphere has been created in what used to be an absolutely marvelous place to work. The individuals responsible for this choice in Home Office must have sold their souls to the devil to agree to this. I wonder if they would approve this management approach if members of their own families were treated the way Travelers' employees are treated? Back before the atmosphere was poisoned by the "Progressive" style of (mis-)management, I was willing to walk barefoot on ground glass to help my department excel. But Jay Fishman's poisonous approach to producing the appearance of profits has made that a thing of the past. And speaking of the past, you better not stay too long. If you're over 50 and you're not a politically connected manager, you'll be "managed out" no matter how good your work is. If you're a politically connected knucklehead, you can stay forever. But when Travelers tried to manage out the best in the business, which required total dishonesty on the part of the "reviewers," they hit a few speed bumps - namely the EEOC. The Feds are on to them, so stay tuned!

Advice to Senior Management

Travelers is being audited and "file reviewed" to death. Hire the best in the business, let them actually WORK, then review them honestly. Oh, and one more thing: fire half the managers. They're doing you more harm than good.