Pros
People fortunate to work here love working here because the benefits are exceptional, Let's start with vacation - most companies feel it's generous to give three weeks of paid vacation. At KP you start with that or a smidge more and accrue with years worked. When I left I had 7.5 weeks of paid vacation. How many other employers in the US offer that? Because it's an HMO you get comprehensive health care, that begins as soon as you're hired, and if you work there long enough, your health care will be there after you reach 65. The pay is very comparable and they compensate you financially quite fairly and even generously. If you happen to be part of management, you are compensated even greater. Not many company have pensions they can offer you but KP still has that and you get vested rather quickly for it. Again, people want to work for this company because it still has excellent benefits, even compared to its earlier years when the benefits were beyond stellar. This is why Kaiser Permanente holds on to its work force because the grass isn't greener next door at least financially and benefits wise.
Cons
Like any business you are employed at, much has to do with the environment. Kaiser Permanente is your typical corporate structure that is both macro and micro. Macro in a bad sense that you feel you are barely a cog in the massive system that makes it work. Micro in the sense that in the end you're still dealing with people who can be pernicious, petty, vengeful, spiteful and these are your supervisors, managers, management and at times your co-workers. Kaiser Permanente promotes its work environment as positive but it is anything but that, especially if you have horrible bosses which is the norm and not the exception. As a corporation that works dutifully to cultivate its public perception, the reality is that KP is not remotely close to its 'spin.' If KP was such a great place to work for, other than benefits, than how you can explain why its own employment assistance program (EAP) and other mental wellness programs are overwhelmed by its own employees. It's not a healthy place to work, even though it promotes that 'healthy' message to its customer base. Both upper and lower management is incredibly inept and is rewarded for being so, and again. People continue to work there because the benefits are the only thing that keeps it bearable and the fact the job market is super bleak. Again, I only recommend Kaiser Permanente as a place to work because the benefits are very good but that is changing - so get in while those benefits exist and be prepared to be supervised and managed by someone who should never been made a manager or supervisor ever.