The country's most wretched employer - Documentation and Communications Specialist DISH Employee Review

1.0
May 16, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are very, very few pros for working at Dish; however, you'll find most of its people to be very friendly and hard working.

Cons

Worst place I've EVER worked, and that's saying something! Their turnover is close to 50% -- even at corporate HQ at Meridian -- and for a great many reasons. You may find are a few glowing reviews, but that's because the HR department writes and posts them regularly to try and counteract all the well-earned negativity. When I was there, they were ranked the worst company in the country to work for two years in a row, and they did absolutely nothing to change that status. Why? They just don't care. So even though you're salaried, you'll be treated as an hourly toddler who's confined to prison. If you arrive even one minute late (which happens at 9:00 a.m., NOT 9:01), you'll get written up. They don't care if you put in 65 hours a week, it's not OK to take a long lunch to get something like an appointment done. I once had one of the HR beasts try to tell me I needed to find doctors and specialists who could see me at night and on the weekends. That's pretty audacious. Everyone there is miserable, and you can feel it. Management is insane, and promotions are rarer than snow owls. I saw no one under my wretched director get promoted -- no one. And they definitely play favorites, as evidenced by their annual "talent planning," which is a euphemism for layoffs. Nowhere, however, is this aggregious than during the performance appraisal period. Your actual performance is almost entirely irrelevant, and will depend largely on what group you're in and who your director is. They grade everyone on a curve, so even if a manager has five great employees, only one can be classified as "exceeding expectations," and even if it's not true, someone MUST BE characterized as "not meeting expectations." I've seen them do that to people for the craziest reasons. One of my dear friends worked for them for 19 years and did amazing work. But I happened to overhear her boss telling another manager that she "made too much money," so she was going to be appraised poorly and ultimately fired, but not until she finished a big project for them. It's absolutely maddening. The CEO/owner is worth $11.22 billion, but none of that goes toward making his employees happy. Dish is a Fortune 200 company, but Forbes and a number of other magazines have questioned repeatedly how Dish is the only company making money with such grossly unhappy employees, but he's just selling air, and employees are a dime a dozen to him. They don't care how much it costs to replace employees... they'd rather do that than keep some very valuable and bright people. Oh, and if you do get hired, gird yourself for at least a three-month hiring process. They'll ask you about your salary requirements, say that will be no problem at all, and then ultimately hand you a contract demanding that you take a pay cut. They're simply evil. EVERYONE I knew had been lied to about their pay, and they don't do raises. You might get 2%, but they typically only do that once every five years or so. I cannot overemphasize what an abominitation this company is. If it were a person, it would be a sociopath. The ridiculously intransigent ownership and management should be ashamed.

Explore other reviews about DISH

5.0
Feb 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great and flexible work supported my growth through college

Cons

Honestly that the product we were selling wasn't the best value

avatar
DISH Response
4mo
It is wonderful to hear that the flexibility of your role provided the support you needed to successfully navigate your growth through college. We take great pride in being a workplace that accommodates the educational pursuits of our team members, as we know how vital that balance is for long-term career development. While it is rewarding to hear about your personal success, we also appreciate your candid perspective regarding our product value and market positioning. We are constantly evaluating our competitive edge and exploring new ways to better serve both our core customers and emerging markets. Feedback like yours is essential as we strive to evolve and refine our approach to the business.
3.0
May 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good middle management and compensation. Lots of opportunities to learn from plenty of smart people.

Cons

Disclaimer -This is all water cooler hearsay and opinion. During the two years I was there the bill came due on being penny wise and dollar dumb over the years. A great example is Sling. Dish beat basically everyone to market but Netflix with streaming and was the first platform to offer live TV via stream (which YouTube TV still uses as a selling point). What happened? Dish paid the original engineers to build it and then balked at paying them to document and maintain it. Same deal with the cyber security team. After years of expecting security engineers to do exceptional work shorthanded for middling compensation eventually they had none. It was all put on the security manager, who had a heart attack after repeatedly requesting support. He understandably did not return. Not much later one of the core systems was ransomed, and the company fell out of the fortune 500. Despite being in the middle of dealing with the consequences of those decisions leadership was doing it all again with the mobile network build out.

1
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DISH Response
1mo
Hearing that you found value in our middle management and compensation, as well as the chance to learn from the talented individuals on our teams, is encouraging. We appreciate you recognizing those aspects of your time with us. On the other hand, the historical context and concerns you shared regarding executive decision-making, infrastructure maintenance, and resource allocation are deeply concerning. Maintaining a stable, secure, and well-supported environment for our workforce is of the utmost importance, and we take feedback regarding employee well-being and operational decisions seriously. We are continually working to strengthen our operations and better support our teams across all business units. Because this review references a sensitive medical situation alongside organizational challenges, we would welcome the opportunity to hear more about your perspective. Please consider reaching out to our team directly at peopleoperations@dish.com so we can learn more.
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