Southwest Airlines Reviews

Pros

Flight benefits when you can use them
Employer matching on your 401k
Decent health benefits although quite expensive for a new hire

Cons

Mandatory overtime day after day
Mandatory to work on your day off
Abusive team leaders
Almost exclusive hiring of minorities instead of diversity
Monitoring guidelines are unattainable unless you are a machine
High turnover even in this economy
Lack of respect from management - agents viewed as completely replaceable
Sweatshop type mentality

Advice to Senior Management

Hire humane team leaders
Treat your agent as partners not machines
Apply the Golden Rule you tout
Diversity means everyone
Toss out the sweatshop mentality

Pros

Flight benefits
Medical Benefits
Resume builder/Good brand

Cons

Leaders just don't care if you work hard, are passionate, or do a good job.
Do one thing wrong once and they will hold it over your head forever.
Pay is way below average (unless you are in a union position)
Vacation policy is terrible...expect almost no time off for a year
Stress is high, appreciation is low, praise for good work is nonexistent.
There's no team work.
Most (corporate) employees don't have a college degrees...even though their role really should require one.
No team building
Everything is held close to the vest. Don't expect to know anything about what is happening until you read it in the newspaper/Internet. There's no communications about future direction, vision, projects etc. Just hits you when you least expect it and you are responsible for cleaning up the mess with absolutely no training.

Pros

Fun, casual atmosphere, great benefits

Cons

In my department employees quit without having another job because of incompetent management. Even though senior management knew this and concerns were expressed directly to them nothing was done. It is very unlikely that long time employees in management positions will be reprimanded or fired. Intelligent, driven employees leave for positions with higher pay and better growth potential while the less desirable will stay there until they retire.

Advice to Senior Management

Instead of rewarding loyalty whether that person is a valuable asset or not, listen to employees and try to address their concerns before you lose them.

Pros

Excellent communication, great Leadership, FUN atmosphere, positive support between management and Employees, and opportunity for advancement. Culture is amazing too!!!

Cons

Long hours, sometimes too much overtime, hard to distinguish home from work, and irregular operations can cause too much stress on Employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen more to your Employees. Hold TOWN HALLS and receive and be receptive to feedback. Allow anonymous postings on suggestions and topics. Give MORE positive feedback to Employees.

Pros

excellent benefits, with advancement opportunities

Cons

long work week at low pay

Advice to Senior Management

increase wage

Pros

Pay, Benefits, Satisfaction. Very little frustration.

Cons

Round the clock on call.

Advice to Senior Management

Look forward to a greater decade this time around.

Pros

The People, Culture, Attitude, and overall atmosphere of the company is amazing. The ability to find a place to work and love what you do is critical to being successful and happy. This company meets that qualification.

Cons

Free food/parties creates dietary problems for individuals looking to stay healthy, not exactly the best avenue. Productivity is somewhat diminished because of culture, its about finding a balance, some days they have it, and others they don't. Still a terrific company who has learned about employee engagement.

Pros

Great benefits, fun people, day goes by fast, never boring, and freedom.

Cons

Don't plan on having a life, a wife/GF, family, no point in buying a house or car, might as well sleep at the place since all you do is work. They tell you not to break your back over the job, yet people will get rated poorly because of job performance. a lot of liars, theives, backstabbers. They overwork you and wonder why people go OJI. Stop with the unnecessary mandatory.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop overworking people, and listen to your employees, not what you have been doing for the past 35 years because your way isn't always the best way.

Pros

Flexible hours, option to take every other Friday or half fridays off, casual dress, relaxed environment, cool atmosphere. Colorful people and work environment. Benefits as a full time employee.

Cons

Politics, back stabbing, random frequent reorganizations, immature business processes, BAs and PMs not respected or fully utilized, treated like the developers' admins. Developer-centric technology without clear planning or accountability.

Advice to Senior Management

Talented people are leaving, pay attention to why.

Pros

Great culture and casual dress code.

Cons

Economy can effect profit sharing.

Advice to Senior Management

NA