More Toxic Than the Worst High School but without a Work Life Balance - Warehouse Distribution Specialist McMaster-Carr Employee Review

1.0
Nov 21, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary for what you do/can tolerate, Yearly Bonus, Great retirement if you last that long, Company paid medical (but we have been told we will be taxed up to $18K if Obamacare is not repealed)

Cons

After just celebrating 6 years with the company, I have nothing to show for it on my resume but a large void. The work is not rewarding and unless you kiss butt or have a Masters degree from an ivy league school with no work experience, do not plan on getting a supervisory role. Coworkers are worse than high schoolers. Many peers say they go home an cry. People would throw you under the bus to make themselves look good despite hurting you. Supervisors have favorites and overlook wrongdoing by them. The place has no pride and is a pigsty. It is only about numbers and volume and not taking care of employees. The business model is that they don't have a business model. They think they are the best, but there are better options out there like Amazon, Grainger, etc. If you have kids, do not plan on attending many of their after school functions, because they will be over before you get home from work.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

4.0
Jun 16, 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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