Old Boys Club - Anonymous employee Grainger Employee Review

2.0
2 Oct 2010
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Benefits, brand, profitability, deep history and and success in spite of their poor senior leadership.

Cons

Who you know and how eloquent of a speaker you are gets you promoted. Not how well you can execute or what your capabilities are. Huge suboptimization of human capital at this place. Not where any real change agents go to move the needle. Most all newcomers (like I was) in the past 5-7 years have moved-on due to frustration of being marginalized and suffering from "tissue rejection from the host". They only pay lip service to wanting the best/brightest new blood. When you get there and start to execute, many of the good old boy network gets threatened and throws political road blocks in your way. Some even go so far as attempting to sabotage your project or credibility for their own politcal gain. Lastly, too much "cross-training" occurs (e.g., dipping toes into the ponds of completely unrelated functional areas to "check the box" on "leadership development". Funny how many of the high potentials that can't execute are simply moved along through different departments on their continued journey of mediocrity. Too many "diversity" hires/rotations at the senior leadership level (e.g., people that have no right to be in their current positions).

Explore other reviews about Grainger

5.0
13 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* Work-life balance (paid holidays, no work on weekends, no late evenings * Manager has experience in role, can relate to workers * Lots of resources do to job * Total package is strong (pay, benefits, retirement)

Cons

* Lots of metrics to watch * Some customers expect too much

4.0
6 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Benefits are decent and reasonably priced. They offer a 401k match, BCBS insurance, FSA, HSA, dental, vision, life insurance, and accidental D&D coverage. They also do a 3‑to‑1 match for donations to non‑religious 501(c) organizations. There’s a big emphasis on volunteering, with plenty of opportunities to get involved. The building itself is beautiful, with a free on‑site gym, a coffee shop, real trees in the atrium, a waterfall, and a large cafeteria (though the food can vary). They’re also flexible about which days you come on‑site, depending on the team’s schedule. If I needed to switch a Monday for a Thursday, it was never an issue. My manager was also supportive of remote work on days when the weather made commuting difficult.

Cons

Admins do not get an annual bonus. They're really strict on Overtime, really weird about worrying about mini costs. Like they'll spend 50k on a week-long training but freak out if people want to rent a car while being in town. Can't buy lunch for this 3 hour meeting to cut costs, but we'll drop 10k on this other thing. It's also so unfair that some people get to work remotely and others are forced to come in 3 times a week, for the exact same roles. Every meeting is basically online, so it's just silly and a power trip.

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