Working at REI is MUCH different than it appears - Anonymous employee REI Employee Review

Micromanagers that use intimidation toward employees. There's always the question of "What will this top-level person think of this?" Projects always require approval from top leaders and it slows down processes. There's no trust between upper management and employees. Inauthentic culture. REI strives for "authenticity", but there is a lack of transparency and open door policy. Why else do you think that Reddit disaster happened with that employee ranting on a public board? HR turnover is so high that it's hard to confide in someone in HR who's only worked there for 3 months and doesn't know anything about the company. The passive-aggressive culture also applies to this. Instability. Too many re-organizations within the company where people are let-go left and right. Work/Life Balance is so-so. There's this overly-positive image of REI it portrays that it has an amazing work-life balance. Although most days you start and get off on-time, expect to work non-stop throughout the day with little lunch breaks and occasional extensions in the evenings.