Pros
The opportunity to learn and grown outside of your specific job exists here, if you are clever enough to quickly figure out the internal politics. If you can, you will gain some great experience for your resume and future interviews. There is a true wealth of experience in the production area, and is a great opportunity to learn about their operations which will make you more literate in the packaging world and in future endeavors.
Cons
The internal politics is exhausting. It is a small, family-owned company that holds up to all of the negative stereotypes that exist with that type of company - excessive favoritism, poor pay, poor/outdated benefits, incapable/inexperienced management, a workload that goes beyond your pay/title, limited recognition/promotion opportunities, poor internal communication, pandering to select longtime employees, and an overall toxic internal culture. The management team is made up of solely of family members and family friends with no outside experience that are in roles beyond their skill set, within 1 or 2 exceptions that have learned it’s better to go along with the status quo rather than challenge or attempt to change it. The turnover of the outsiders to the management team is also alarming and is an indication of ownership’s mindset. Turnover in general is a red flag. If the company is as great as they want to claim they are, you wouldn’t see that kind of staff turnover (production and front office). They will spin you a good tale though of why everyone is gone, and will usually trash each departure on a personal level. Let that speak volumes to you about the true character and lack of professionalism of this company and its management. The mindsets of fear and insecurity run deep here. Do not expect to make any significant contribution that will earn you any respect. Any proposed change that seems obvious or simple often results in sabotage from certain members of the management team, which will set off a domino effect of repercussions from the top. Any changes that may seem more complicated or take more effort will either be entertained superficially with no progress, or dismissed outright with a vague statement along the lines of “that just doesn’t fit with who we are”. And if you start to have the feeling you should watch your back, trust that instinct. And due to ownership/management structure, there are no trustworthy internal resources you can go to in confidence. Not even those that seem the friendliest or those whose roles would indicate that they should be trustworthy. As for the “4 pillars”? The phrase “practice what you preach” is only selectively applied here. Courage - good luck if you do speak up, you will likely just be seen as a nuisance. Community - it’s all about image for upper management, and the company taking credit for any personal contributions by the employees within the community. Integrity - there is little to no integrity left at the top. Servant Leadership - this is all backwards here, rather than the leadership serving to be an example and engage/inspire the employees the employees are expected to serve their leaders. Preferably with no questions asked.