Trust the Reviews, the Culture is Not Improving - Anonymous employee McMaster-Carr Employee Review

1.0
Jul 28, 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- They hire talented people - Excellent pay and benefits - Work/Life balance can be good (depends on the team)

Cons

The culture, the expectations, and the communication is beyond toxic. It doesn't matter if you've been with the company more than a decade, if you get a manager that feels like they don't like you, it's likely you'll be pushed out. Knowledge and experience, about and within the company, don't mean anything, these things are not valued. It really is a revolving door, they don't use experienced managers and nothing is taken lightly. They claim they are working on the culture but they're not, people practices, DEI, and any sense of safety or security are empty claims. Morale is abysmal and work performance will have no bearing on any promotional opportunities or provide any safeguards against a bad manager. Hard work will not take you anywhere at this company and it is absolutely a fear-based culture that they bill as "high expectations." They will look for any weakness they can, good work, when recognized, is only lip service. It seems they want to hire people to make them jump through hoops and then push them beyond a breaking point. The workplace is so toxic that most people are not able to stay regardless of skill or talent. Document all your efforts, they likely won't save you if there's a judgement call. I don't trust the company, I don't trust the management, it seems that peoples' lives and careers are stepping stones for others. Listen to the reviews, stay away if you can or leave early. It's seems clear that retention is not a priority, even when they have eager employees who want to do well.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
Jun 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

At least in the Systems department, it’s a helpful and collaborative environment.

Cons

3 days in office and potentially long commute from the city

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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