Living the dream on the Hy-Vee hamster wheel. - Department Manager Hy-Vee Employee Review

Wages are too low. Raises don't come frequently and when they do you might not be told you got one. You just might notice it on your paysturb but only if it is big enough to notice, which it proably isn't. Autonomy of store directors can be a horrible thing. After working in multiple stores for nearly 8 years, and thinking originally that I might want to retire with this company, I have since decided differently. I have worked for managers who have violent outbursts, affairs with subordinates, and openly exhibited sexist/ageist/racist behaviors. The dress code in most stores is something right out of a 50's movie. If I were a teenager looking for a PT job, why would I want to work for lower wages than even Target and have to where a white shirt and tie too? Although they get accolades for their diverse hiring, I have seen a much different side. It is still being run by mostly white men with a few women and ethnicities sprinkled in. And that is not necessarily a bad thing until you realize they are mostly cut from the same batch of dough. There is A LOT of nepotism so if you know someone at Corporate or are the son of a director, I would definitely apply. Department managers are mostly taken complete advantage of and do too much of the actual work. Stores have too many upper managers who do very little toward the bottom line while others do most of the work. Front ends are so poorly managed that the one thing the upper management does do is spend hours on a register doing the work of someone who should be making much less. It's probably a decent work-life balance for those who are okay with never making over 12/hour and never get asked to work OT. As a department manager, you will miss more time with your family than you can keep track of as it wiill fall on you to cover for the persistent labor shortages and increasing pressure for sales and profit increases that are feeding the growth of the company. And if you are a strong female, who isn't fake, and doesn't want to have a torrid affair with someone in upper management, and especially if you are over 40, I would look elsehere. There is no place for you in this cookie jar.