Company culture and mission - how important it is for you?

[Anonymous]

I definitely work for profit and I would say that company culture matters tremendously no matter where you work.

My former workplace environment was toxic. Management including owners would gossip about and undermine employees, there were no standards or ethics and everyone there was miserable. The people I keep in touch with there, still are. I can't believe I lasted as long as I did.

I now work in an environment where the owners and managers of the company actually want to help employees succeed. Colleagues support each other. There is no drama or gossip and everyone is collegial - friends, even. How refreshing.

Go with your gut, OP. You'll be miserable otherwise. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Most employers will tell you their company culture is "extremely collegial" and "open door" and "highly supportive" or some paraphrase/combination of the above. Their employees gather frequently, are on a first-name basis, go out together, play softball, blah blah. What happens in reality may be quite different. Having someone describe the culture and mission really makes little difference. And you should be able to describe the mission yourself. Why would you need them to do that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not important at all. Quality of work, pay, commute, hours, advancement opportunities are all that matter to me.

+1, although I wouldn't work for a bad corporate citizen (e.g.: Monsanto)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, unless you work for a non-profit, university, or the government, the mission is to make money. It's called capitalism. I think you may regret this leaving this opportunity, but that really depends on your job skills and niche.

Surely you realize that some people really don't want their work to be all about maximizing revenue. Job skills have nothing to do with it.

I'm sure some people value working for something more (I don't work for a private company and really value my org mission), but every private companies mission is to make owners money. Anything else is window dressing and employees should see through it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I assume the mission of a for profit company if profit. So mission is not important. Culture on the other hand is different. I don't want to work for a company that puts profit ahead of treating employees fairly and acting ethically in the community.

Culture is a big deal. The company I worked for used to follow the mantra that they would hire smart people, let them work on interesting, hard and important problems, and the financials would take care of themselves. About 8 years ago, the culture shifted to financials first. Now, each project has to be profitable on its own....we are not allowed to pursue work because it is interesting and important.....only if it is profitable.

The profits are down with the new model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk to me please

I just turned down an opportunity to work for the company that could not clearly spelled out theirs. Now I have a second thoughts about that decision.
Am I insane? They pay good money, benefits are fantastic, commute is so-so, but doable. It is a step up in my career, but not exactly the industry I prefer to work in.

Thanks

It's important.
Less important than what they tell you is the references you do on the company, group and whom you would report to. If you report to a bastard or bitch, I'd run. Maybe not in my 20s if I needed the work experience but mid-career if the group has turnover, a selfish boss, etc, not worth it unless your situation deems it (need money, need the experience asap, etc.).
But not articulating the culture well enough is not a cultural deal breaker in my book. Again, do your diligence and references. If you sense they couldn't articulate it well or each person sid something different or coy they could be hiding a dysfunction work environment or boss. But "not spelling it out", big deal. unless this is a philosophy company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk to me please

I just turned down an opportunity to work for the company that could not clearly spelled out theirs. Now I have a second thoughts about that decision.
Am I insane? They pay good money, benefits are fantastic, commute is so-so, but doable. It is a step up in my career, but not exactly the industry I prefer to work in.

Thanks

I'm confused. No one you interviewed with could "clearly spell out the culture" or when they talked about culture it sounded toxic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not important at all. Quality of work, pay, commute, hours, advancement opportunities are all that matter to me.

+1, although I wouldn't work for a bad corporate citizen (e.g.: Monsanto)

Monsanto is helping feed billions of people with affordable food. Without GMO, many foods would be orders of magnitude more expensive and thereby OSS available to many in poverty. Don't conflate your white collar liberal ideals with the fundamental concepts of right and wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not important at all. Quality of work, pay, commute, hours, advancement opportunities are all that matter to me.

+1

Agree with this, along with work/life balance and flexibility.

Agree with all the above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not important at all. Quality of work, pay, commute, hours, advancement opportunities are all that matter to me.

+1, although I wouldn't work for a bad corporate citizen (e.g.: Monsanto)

Monsanto is helping feed billions of people with affordable food. Without GMO, many foods would be orders of magnitude more expensive and thereby OSS available to many in poverty. Don't conflate your white collar liberal ideals with the fundamental concepts of right and wrong.

Guess someone bought the company line, or at least the commercials.