Southern Company Reviews

I was berated by a coworker to the point of tears on a near daily basis, in front of other people. I talked to 3 managers about the situation, and the net result was me being told that he was an asset to the company, and that I was the one who needed to change. Later came to find out he had a history of PHYSICALLY assaulting female coworkers, yet still had a job there several years later, because he was an "asset" (who I caught multiple times sleeping at his desk when he wouldn't answer my phone calls). Minority friends of mine, who were contractors at the company, were called a racial slur by their supervisor in response to accidentally dropping a box on his foot. In summary, blatant HR issues were merely swept under the rug and the victims were more or less told to get over it. I was also not given any challenging work and was forced into a role I was not hired for. I got the impression that Southern Company was a company people joined for the sole purpose of getting good retirement benefits rather than being challenged to learn, grow, and develop their careers. My interview consisted of going to lunch with the hiring manager and a coworker. I was asked maybe 3 experience-related questions and that was about it. Impossible to move up because no one gets fired and rarely ever quits, so you have to wait for someone to retire to move into a new position.

There are many cons. Firstly, the company is away too conservative and it is filled with old males. The cafeteria in Inverness has around 7 television screens and EVERY one of them is constantly tuned to Fox News. I've heard a myriad of racist and sexist comments during my five years working for this company an it's very disgusting. This is not at all a good pale for a younger technical professional to learn because the culture and knowledge retention programs are so regressive. There is no real knowledge retention program by the way, these old guys just fly by the seat of their pants. I've seen a few comments about how minorities apparently get priority promotion over others which is simply the most untrue thing that I've ever heard in my life. In actuality, the leadership is dominated by white men and there is absolutely no sign of that changing anytime soon. The middle management at this company are spineless and function mainly as yes men. The culture is extremely regressive and stupendously conservative. The company does a horrific job at actually training younger professionals. This is not the place where a young person with ideas should work. It's too stifling of an atmosphere and I personally have been searching for a much better position in another geographic location for a few months. I've gotten a few offers for interviews so let's hope that I can leave this company once and for all!!