GASLIGHTING...not worth the benefits! - Anonymous employee McMaster-Carr Employee Review

1.0
28 June 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good pay, tuition reimbursement, steady hours

Cons

This place has the most toxic work culture. I read all the Glassdoor reviews and joined anyway...big mistake. It's worse than the reviews can articulate. Unless you want to hate getting up for work everyday, STEER CLEAR. There's a reason why the benefits are so good; they have to throw money at people to compensate for how awful the work is. This is a place where bullies thrive, not a place where ideas thrive. This is not a place where people can be honest. This is a company that operates on 0% trust and 100% micromanagement. There is a rotating door policy - having people leave regularly is normal and acceptable. The company structures the operation so that everyone is dispensable and replaceable, so no one feels valued. They'll just put someone else in your spot. You'll come back to your desk after lunch one day only to find out that the person sitting next to you an hour ago just got fired. Values are rarely talked about, except for cutting costs and squeezing the most productivity out of every last person. People succeed here by reinforcing the toxic culture and talking behind people's backs in order to get ahead. You can't get through a single lunch here without gossip because people are so terrified by the lack of transparency and tired of having to walk on eggshells. Expectations change frequently, but your performance relative to those expectations is hardly ever communicated so you never really know where you stand. There's also a two-class system: management vs staff. Staff can't make decisions, which fosters resentment and a lack of collaboration. It's very rare to move from staff to management, so there's no opportunity to grow. Do. Not. Join. The salary and benefits seem too good to be true because they are. Think about what this company has to over-compensate for in order to offer that kind of a deal...and even then the attrition rate is off the charts. Save yourself the stress. Another company may pay you less, but the mental toll of working for McMaster will cost you much more.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
14 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

At least in the Systems department, it’s a helpful and collaborative environment.

Cons

3 days in office and potentially long commute from the city

4.0
16 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Pay/benefits are incredibly generous - People are generally easy/nice to work with - Note that the Systems department seems to be fairly isolated from the negative issues discussed in other reviews (e.g. tension between warehouse workers and management) - I haven't experienced any of those issues within the systems department. In my opinion, Systems is a great place to work and develop as an engineer. - Hybrid work style (3 days in office). Personally, I like hybrid more than both fully in-office and fully remote styles. - Great cafeteria with good food and cheap prices. - Good work/life balance (outside of being on call, I can leave work at work).

Cons

- Work is not super interesting to me. I come from a highly technical, but very different (not ecommerce/industrial supplies), background where I was doing work I was much more interested in. No doubt there are folks in Systems who love the domain though. - While I'm not on call a ton (1-2 weeks every few months), I really hate being on call. I like to leave work at work. Note that joining at least one reliability team is expected within your first year or so.

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