MGA Entertainment Reviews

Pros

Not much. The office is new and the people I worked with daily were pretty great, but that's about it.

Cons

The entire organization is siloed by department and most don't work well with others. Communication between departments is constant but worthless given the amount of change on a week to week basis. When a completely irrational and uninformed decision is made, when asked why that decision is made, the standard answer is "because Isaac wants it." If you don't know, Isaac Larian is the owner and this company is privately held, therefore, it's his way or the highway. During the pandemic, in the worst hit city of the worst hit state, these guys made it mandatory to return to the office, full time. The backlash was substantial resulting in numerous resignations. There was even an email from the owner "guaranteeing" the personal safety and health of everyone. Yes, he's that arrogant and pompous, which should give you an idea of what you're walking into. Also, please realize that every four and five star rating, and most of the three star ratings are fake, HR canned responses to boost the company rating on Glassdoor to improve recruiting. Don't believe the hype, it's a trap, and not a very good one. Don't walk; RUN away. Just about any other job is better than any job at this joint. Pay is low, benefits are atrocious in cost given how much this company makes per year, no sick time (only PTO) and if you're looking for a flexible work environment built on trust and employee performance, you've come to the wrong place.

Pros

Team members, the worker bees, are incredible people with much heart, intelligence, and drive to work hard.

Cons

If you are thinking of working here please do your homework and understand what you are getting into. Here are some points you need to be aware of. 1) Employees have the opportunity to work on great projects that will lift your resume. It is very easy to expand your skills with on the job training as you tackle new projects. However, there is no strategy and what you work on is often half thought through. So, projects are often rushed, not properly supported and often get cancelled quickly. 2) Teams work in silo1s, Without a cohesive strategic plan, teams often work disjointed. Again, plans are not executed well or to their full potential. 3) Toxic culture is very real. It is one of the worst cultures I’ve ever experienced. Teams back stab each other, people are not truly happy to be there, performance is not celebrated, the list is long. 4) Culture of fear is real. Many employees have been humiliated, yelled at, sworn at in meetings by senior leaders and specifically by Isaac, the CEO. Leadership are known to adopt his style and bully their direct team and other team members. Many other punitive actions occur as well. Team members treat each other this way at times as a result. This is tolerated and excused by HR. It creates a hostile and uncomfortable environment and feeds the poor culture. 5) While the base pay is fair, bonuses are often significantly shorted or completed not paid. Annual raises are sometimes withheld or are far below average. In the hiring process you are made to believe you will earn a good compensation. The reality is not so - you will be paid far less. I ended up getting 30% less pay due to this. I know many others who ranged from 10% - 40% less pay when they believed they would be seeing an increase during the hiring process. This is a consistency issue. 6) The company is ad hoc and does not follow a strategic plan. As the world becomes more responsible, it is just as important how you do business as the business you do. If customers knew the way employees were treated I am sure many people would not buy their products. I will never buy MGA products for the horrible way they treat people.

Pros

The pay is decent so they can draw you in. Isaac (Owner/CEO) is probably a genius and seems to be finally working on himself. Their HQ is a very modern and nice space.

Cons

Far and away this is the most toxic organization I have ever worked for. The entire place is fueled by fear and stuffing more money into a billionaire's pockets. It's not exactly motivating. Very few stay for more than a year or two. All of those toy awards they collect? They make every employee vote for MGA toys. If you haven't voted, they will SIGN INTO YOU EMAIL ACCOUNT to vote in your name. Assistants have spent entire weekends doing this. The reviews here are the same. Every positive review you may see here is entirely forced. They make people write positive reviews to balance the authentic reviews because they know they haven't earned them on their own merits. Back stabbing, lying, throwing co-workers under the bus, all of it is not just tolerated but encouraged. Screaming at teams is a-ok with them too. NOBODY there is happy. Even the handful of loyalists say "I can't believe I've been here this long." It's a miserable place to work. Avoid at all costs.

Pros

It was close to the freeway.

Cons

I can't recall a more toxic environment that I've worked at in 20+ years. Support staff was generally nice, but anyone in management was overall cold and unapproachable. Although the building was new and there were several nice features (work and rest pods) it was cold and cavernous. Many departments worked in a bubble, not interacting with anyone outside their area. Maybe due to Covid it felt different, but I rarely saw or heard any interactions if it wasn't a set meeting. It also seemed that if you were one of the "old-timers", someone who'd been with the company for years, you were in a special click. Those that were new (like myself) didn't feel welcome.