Pacific Life reviews

3.4

61% would recommend to a friend

(684 total reviews)
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Darryl Button

65% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Pacific Life has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 684 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Pacific Life employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Insurance industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

684 reviews
2.0
Jul 18, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits, Nice pay, Clean area, Nice building overall, Free coffee---but not past 10am. Free Series 6 license.

Cons

The archaic attendance policy. If you have a family or any medical issues, you will not do well here. In fact once they learned I needed to have surgery, I was given my walking papers and informed that my medical benefits would run out at the end of the month---knowing that my surgery was scheduled for the first of the next month. Management claims to always be there to help. However, if you try to get anyone on the phone or in person to assist you---you're told to look it up. However, you've wasted your 3 minute hold time in order to try to look it up on your own first obviously, and management is still no help. My OJT'er was late on 3 occassions and since I could not log into my phone until my OJT'er was at my desk---I got 3 occurrences 3 days in a row for being late. No joke. Only I was never told they were occurrences at the time. Supervisors are a joke with the two in Omaha being on such power trips it would cause you to almost want to stab yourself in the eye with a thumbtack---one of the many you'll need to provide yourself for the ENDLESS amount of paperwork they give you to learn. Supervisors never had one-on-one meetings, even when they were scheduled and you were told "Sorry, I got busy--we'll do it next week". Never had a single performance review while I was there. But everytime I would walk to my supervisors desk she was on her cellphone playing Angry Birds or on Craigslist looking for apartments. The training is lack-luster. They cram a bunch of stuff into your head that has nothing to do with what you'll actually need to learn to do your job. Mock calls are a joke. You will spend 90% of your training time doing Mock Calls and you'll realize that the 20 minutes you spent on actual material (with the trainer going on about her dates from the night before or her diet/gym routine) were not sufficient. In fact I still have no idea what the Pacific Index Choice product is. Not to mention the need for two monitors is apparent. Having to run 15 programs on a 15" screen is ludacris. You get to purchase EVT at the beginning of the year ---an extra week or two of PTO that you can use throughout the year. However, if you're hired on as a temp in October, even though you're working there through the New Year---you do not qualify to opt in to this program. You're stuck with working your proverbial arse off to accumulate enough time off to go to a doctors appointment. Once got sick to the point I could not talk. Went into work anyways asking if there was anything else I could do ---felt fine, voice just wasn't there. Was told to go home. This counted as an occurrence against me, even though I showed up asking for work to do. Updates to the material and information you need to know are endless and you'll get numerous notifications of this material throughout the day. 5-6 updates a day is NOT uncommon. Additionally, you're expected to know this material immediately (and read all of it WHILE you're on the phone). Only to find out your supervisors have no idea what you're talking about when you ask a question about it. They didn't feel the need to read it, they don't do anything all day anyway. OJT is a joke, and your trainer will spend more time doodling or playing on their cellphone than actually listening to your calls. The only feedback you'll get is on your opening and closing. They ignore anything of substance in your calls. OJT days will be the worst days you have. The work environment is very solitary. You are confined to your cube for the entire shift minus your 30 minute lunch, your 15 min morning break and 10 min afternoon break. You have no time to even get to know your co-workers. I worked next to the same people for over 6 months and I think I learned 2 people's names. The database is incorrect a lot of the time, or offers conflicting information. You are not permitted to transfer calls to other departments at any time without following the "Call Transfer Guidelines". Even if a manager told you previously to go ahead and transfer it, you'll get a call review and another manager will nail you on it. The supervisors have NO clue what they're doing.

1.0
Jun 6, 2011

Working in a Sweatshop

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

EVT - you're able to buy 40hrs of vacation time every year

Cons

The Annuity Customer Service department is like working in a sweatshop, yeah, a beautiful sweat shop in Newport Beach. If you like being micro-managed to the point that your bathroom breaks are timed, then this is the place for you! The bottom line this place is nothing more than a call center and you are considered a machine, nothing more than a rat spinning on a wheel signed on to your phone 7.35 hours day. If you are signed on even 1 minute late, it goes in your file and if this happens more than 6 times in a rolling 12 month period, you will be written up and it will be part of your permanent record. God forgive you if an emergency comes up or you get sick and ask to go home. That will cost you too big time! 1 of your allowable 6 occurrence for that same rolling 12 month period. You are not allowed to stay home and actually get well with such limitations, so everyone continues coming in sick and spreading their germs around until we are all sick which means, you guessed it, written up because you went passed the allowable sacred 6. REMEMBER...you are not a human in this department but a producing machine that better not break down because management can't keep the department fully staffed and they need you to be on the phones every second of the day until you are sucked dry. Here’s a snip it of what your day will look like: You will take 99 plus calls in a very complicated environment where the rules change on daily basis You will need to know massive amounts of information without missing a beat You must say the caller's name thought-out the call but nobody will tell what that number actually is, how convenient, they can downgrade your call with a whim You must acknowledge the caller and you’d better use the word "happy" or guess what, that's right, the caller's experience will be tainted (as well as your file) You must do a three-part close even when the caller tells you they don’t need anything else If you need to use the restroom more that twice in one day you are wrecked and won't make the required UT All calls must be P-E-R-F-E-C-T You are required to respond to every question within 20 seconds or a 3 minute hold, and with the amount of information you need to know, it is impossible and keeps growing and changing on a daily basis. Don’t dare complain or put up the white flag either, management doesn’t care, it’s the expectation of your job. Oh yeah, management wants everyone to sit the entire day while taking calls for 7.35 hours too. I am not kidding, they tell you not to stand up!!! You are expected to sit on your rear until they turns numb. When your legs ache and start to cramp you are fearful mgmt will spot you stretching. Customer Service peeps are the red-headed step children of Pacific Life. We are never allowed to participate with other parts of the company because they can't afford to give you time away from the phone. Recently the entire company had a ice cream event for 1 hour but we were only allow 10 precious minutes to get down, crab a cone and race back to the 4th floor to take more calls. Don't ever complain or try to stand up for yourself, because if you do, you will end up on the "you are a trouble marker" list F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Basically we all learn early on to just shut down and be quiet ! Good luck ever getting out of this department too, but that's how HR bates you excepting the position in the first place. Making statements like, CS is a stepping stone to other opportunities within the company and a great place to get your foot into the door. DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! All lies!!! Maybe 1% actually get out of this dept! That place and the entire department is basically the most depressing atmosphere I have ever had to endure and I can‘t wait until the economy picks up so I can adios-amigos! I'm actually fearful of someone going ballistic in that place before I get the heck out. I hope to God I call in sick THAT day! (and it’s my 7th occurrence haha). If you are ever desperate enough to still considering working for Annuity CS, then count yourself warned!

1.0
Mar 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free lunch every day is pretty great

Cons

Constant changes make it difficult to feel settled Very bad leaders in certain areas; experience is highly dependent on your leadership chain Employee centricity, which PL touts, has really taken a dive in recent years

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Pacific Life Response
3mo
Thank you for taking the time to reflect on your experience. We recognize that our continued business growth is driving meaningful change, and we also know that navigating these periods can create uncertainty, especially when consistency in leadership and culture matters so much to our day-to-day work. Your feedback about leadership impact and how supported employees feel is heard, and it remains an area of focus through leadership development, clearer expectations, and listening forums designed to surface real employee experiences. We’re glad you’ve enjoyed some of the everyday benefits like onsite meals, and we know those alone don’t define a workplace. Creating an environment where leaders consistently model our values and where employees feel supported and valued continues to be a priority.
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