Pros
I started with AB straight out of college, 20 years old with little significant work experience outside of internships. In my 12 years there, I had the opportunity to witness the company shift from the old school AB to the more fast paced, vibrant company it is today. In my tenure, I found plenty of opportunities for growth, great mentors, and above all amazing work challenges I would have never had the chance to tackle, much less lead, at other companies with the experience I had. My leaders at AB were always willing to take risks and supported many (sometimes crazy) ideas I had, allowing me to flex creativity and own my work. I also had the chance to move functions and roles, learning more on the job than I believe I ever gave back, especially early on in my career before settling into my chosen career (HR). Now that I have been out a year, I look back on my time there fondly. Most notably, the freakishly talented group of people I was surrounded with on a daily basis. AB attracts (but sometimes fails to retain) some of the smartest, innovative thinkers; people that push you to be better, think bigger, faster. In my office at least, I felt like I could always bring my true self to work and that people respected that. Pros: -scope of work/projects assigned: many times felt underqualified for tasks given but was given freedom to figure it out -mentors: found people I will rely on for life to give me sound advice, without any personal agenda -pace: fast, room for creativity, able to own and run with things due to lean structure. -exposure to senior leaders, great project opportunities, ability to move w/in functions welcomed -camaraderie: joy to work with talented people; always laughing at work; never had the feeling that I did not want to go in the morning -progressive: moving towards offerings like family leave for all ect to make work/life more balanced
Cons
Despite the amount of talent that occupies the building, AB seemed to make avoidable errors that cost them in time, money and talent. The pains of working there, mainly instability in leadership, constant shifting of priorities, sense of everything being urgent—is all self-induced. The company has seen so much change over the years it almost does not know how to operate without it and the pressure it brings. It’s almost as if you’re not adding value unless you’re changing whatever process the previous person put in place to put your own stamp and prove your worth. When you combine that with the crazy amount of personnel changes made it just perpetuates chaos. I know for me, transitioning to a new company that had considerably less “churn” was difficult—I did not know what to do without 4,373 fires daily to put out. If leaders took a breath (or a sabbatical!) they could step away giving themselves clarity of the bigger picture, perhaps learning new ways to handle urgent things and that some fires are OK to let burn… One of the core principles is to “never be satisfied.” Personally, this kept me always raising the bar but for some, especially those in the top leadership positions, morphed into “always dissatisfied.” This mentality can be poisonous for individuals and teams, as nothing ever seems to be good enough or recognized. Leaders need to make more effort to show appreciation and support and to also remove those who create poor work environments, despite whatever results they bring. Moving away from an “ends justifies the means” culture could help. Cons: - While I rarely experienced this, I did witness unprofessional behavior from leaders in the way they spoke to/about employees -workload: it was high; sometimes it felt worthwhile and other times it was overwhelming. Vacations were never really vacations; work/life balance is tough, particularly for parents. -working in a support function, I was made to feel like a “drag” on the P&L; cost control or cutting was always topic #1 which wears on your after a while -little to no real training given when entering/changing jobs. Very self-directed which works for some but not all.
