Airgas has some growing to do as far as being open-minded.
They are currently a stagnant boomer office in WI that is dying at the hands of the millennial generation. Their old mindset of how they do business is what is killing the culture there. After working from home for two years they still feel that people need to be in the office. This is slightly skewed because there is one particular manager there that is so closed minded that he just can’t fathom the fact that he can’t micromanage employees if they aren’t in the office. Others seem to be ok with allowing their teams to work from home. Senior management are trying to change but unless everyone is onboard they will continue to lose great talent to other companies will to pay what people are worth.
The office culture prior to covid was great(it depended on what manager you had though), however, what perks(office fun days, bbq’s, game days etc) they did have that made them a fun atmosphere back then have ceased. It is now a grey stagnant office with constant turnover because they have no incentives to work there, are resisting change, and the pay-overall- is less than the median jobs in the area. They are so concerned with “offending people” that they make it a chore to work there. Wearing a mask, checking your temperature every day, no walking around, can’t eat with anyone you used to be able to, social distance etc.
The management here also isn’t very transparent. You are on a need-to-know basis—while some information obviously warrants that—you feel like you are treated like a child. Some management members seem to have a superiority complex over the fact that they’re privy to knowledge that you aren’t. It really is degrading when you are all adults working towards a common goal—success.
The pay here is something that has always irked me. Regardless of the commission structure, compared to the community average of 53022–in 2022– their pay is substantially lower than other company’s in the same industrial park with the same job description. I went so far as to reach out to a few contacts in the area and got a gauge on how much people were paying for open positions in the area similar to my current position and Airgas is paying 30-40% less. With this market that is unacceptable, especially with inflation at 8%.
Their vacation. It sucks frankly. Give you two business weeks —meaning 10 days— until 3 years then you get 15 business days. Next bump is at 10 years I believe and you get another 5 days… Get 5 days of sick time.
They have no summer hours or company outings. Let me rephrase, management has outings. The rest of the sales team does not.
3 things that were a “final straw for me”.
- gaslight becoming an “exempt” employee(because you are hourly otherwise). Tell you that if you make the company 3500$ a day that you “no longer have to clock in and out”. What incentive is that for your employee? One might say you now longer get over time however, OT stopped during COVID. Also, what does making the company more money have to do with being exempt? Treat people like adults. That is not a incentive.
- The substantial pay gap. Previously stated, I think that was made very clear.
- Resistant to change. They are not interested in keeping great talent. They are very closed-minded and the boomer mentality will not get them anywhere going forward.